Teachers of the year named by Staunton City Schools
Staunton City Schools announced the 2022-2023 teachers of the year from each school during Monday night's school board meeting.
Staff at each school nominate and vote for one of their peers to be a school-level teacher of the year, a release from the school division said. A committee will select one of the representatives as the final division-wide teacher of the year, using criteria outlined by the state, per the division.
“Visiting in the classrooms of each of our teachers of the year is such an inspiration," said Stephanie Haskins, Staunton City Schools' executive director of instruction. "They all show genuine kindness for their students and put tremendous thought into their instructional planning. There is no wonder there is exceptional learning that occurs in each of these classrooms. We are pleased to be able to honor our teachers each year for the long-term contributions they make for our students and our community."
Bios below provided by the school division.
Melissa Allen, Preschool teacher
2022-2023 Dixon Center Teacher of the Year
Melissa Allen has been an educator for 22 years, including five years in Rockingham County and 17 years in Staunton City. During this time, she has taken on several leadership roles, such as curriculum lead, technology lead, and grant writer/ recipient. Through grants, Melissa and co-workers helped launch preschool’s Imagination Station, and the preschool has a fully functional technology lab.
When asked to elaborate on what her greatest contribution or accomplishment in education is, Melissa will tell you it’s team collaboration, her personal dedication to the classroom, and knowing when preschoolers leave Dixon, they possess the tools necessary to be successful in kindergarten.
Melissa feels that developing relationships with each family and students is an integral part of what makes a successful year in preschool and encouraging autonomy, exploration, discovery, investigation, and problem-based learning through STEM experiences should certainly be at the forefront of early learning. Melissa does not take her role as teacher lightly, rather, she is intentional about instructional practices and strives to make a difference each day.
Leigh Branham, School librarian/ media specialist
2022-2023 Bessie Weller Elementary Teacher of the Year
Leigh Branham has been an educator for 15 years, including a classroom teacher for 13 years and a media specialist for two years. During her years as an elementary school classroom teacher, she had a true passion for literacy. This love of literacy led to Leigh’s pursuit of a library media specialist endorsement. Her goal is to make the library a truly special part of every student’s day. To Leigh, the library is the heart of the school where all are welcome and all belong. Leigh values the opportunity to make an impact on every student in the school.
Leigh feels her greatest contributions and accomplishments to education are her need for every student she teaches to know their value and worth and to realize that they can dream big and accomplish anything. Leigh loves her students as if they were her own children which makes her fully invested in their lives beyond just the time they are in her library. It is when students come back to tell her that she made a difference in their lives that she knows she made the right decision to become a teacher.
Kelsi Weaver, Fifth grade teacher
2022-2023 McSwain Elementary Teacher of the Year
Kelsi Weaver has been at McSwain Elementary as a fifth-grade teacher for all seven years of her teaching career. She has served as a grade-level leader and safety patrol sponsor, and has been a recipient of our SCS Teacher Innovation Initiative. An educational contribution that motivates Kelsi is supporting and collaborating with teachers across the division to increase student engagement. Kelsi has been a geography/writing project lead and has presented SCS University sessions, such as Google Classroom, Nearpod, and Total Participation.
Each year, Kelsi seeks to build strong relationships with each student from day one. She digs deep to learn about them; from their ideal dinner menu to what their worst day ever was like. Cheering them on in the audience of their musicals, or from the bleachers at their baseball games, are just a few of her favorite ways to show her students that they are loved far beyond the brick walls of McSwain Elementary.
It’s not only the relationship with her that matters though. The relationship the students have with themselves and their peers is also key. Starting the day with morning affirmations, working through team building activities, and giving students the chance to talk with each other about their trials and triumphs builds a strong classroom community. Kelsi believes these relationships help to build a sturdy foundation for student success. Kelsi is thrilled that she is able to carry on the legacy of the supportive and engaging educators that she learned from years ago.
Kat McLean, Music teacher
2022-2023 Ware Elementary Teacher of the Year
Kat McLean has been a music teacher for four years, including two years at high school and two years as an elementary music teacher in Staunton City Schools. Kat has been an active member of Schola Cantorum and music director for Wayne Theatre and ShenanArts. She has been a participant in the Restorative Justice Cohort and a presenter for SCS University. This cohort, focused on respect, dignity, and mutual concern, has given her invaluable tools for relationship-building in her classroom, reignited her passion for education, and affirmed her philosophy on education.
No matter their backgrounds and pasts, Kat strongly believes that every single one of her students deserves not only the opportunity to receive a rich education, but also the chance to become a world changer. Each time a student steps into her classroom, they know that they are entering into a safe space where they are loved, valued and treasured as human beings, leading to life-changing relationships that are built on trust, love, empathy, forgiveness, and understanding. In her classroom, Kat uses music to cultivate an environment where each learner feels confident, safe, creative, kind, and loved while they are becoming sharp musicians along the way. She is so grateful for the opportunity to share her love of music with her students every day, and she hopes to instill her love and passion for music in her students as all of her mentors did for her. She looks forward to continuing her journey as a life-long learner as she learns something new in the classroom every day from her awe-inspiring students.
Brandy Johnson, Language Arts teacher
2022-2023 Shelburne Middle Teacher of the Year
Brandy Johnson has been an educator for 20 years, three years at Norview Middle School in Norfolk and 17 years at Shelburne Middle School. She has served as team leader, spelling bee coordinator, book host for a literacy lock-in, and SCS University presenter. Brandy has also served on VDOE SOL Item and test review committees and has volunteered for school board elections, scholarship essays, mission dinners, and golf tournaments to support local organizations (i.e. Wesley Memorial Methodist Church, Wounded Warriors and Children’s Hospital of the Kings Daughters).Brandy feels that her greatest teaching accomplishment is in creating a classroom culture that is inclusive and welcoming to everyone. Brandy tries to build relationships with all of her students in order to make them want to come to her class. She strives to be approachable, yet firm, and she wants her students to feel like they can come to her with anything. Additionally, Brandy wants every student to feel like they have a voice in her classroom. Middle school is hard, and she wants all of her students, both the extroverts and introverts, to know that they are heard. She encourages students to share their voices and communicate in whatever way they feel most comfortable.
Finally, Brandy believes that students can gain both knowledge and pleasure through reading. She feels that student choice is the single most important aspect of successfully helping students to both want to read and to understand what they read. She’s proud of the reading culture in her classroom, and is especially proud of the sense of accomplishment her students feel when finishing books. Whether they’ve completed an audiobook, a novel, or a text heavy non-fiction book, students feel proud of their reading. In fact, she often hears, “I’ve never read as much as I did in seventh grade.”
Liz Keller, Math teacher
2022-2023 Staunton High Teacher of the Year
Liz Keller has been a high school math teacher for seven years, including three years at Parry McCluer in Buena Vista and four years at Staunton High School. She has promoted positive school culture and connection through her work as mathematics department head, class of 2025 sponsor, Comprehensive Instructional Program (CIP) curriculum lead, and social committee chair. She has engaged staff in such initiatives as 12 days of Christmas, Mischief and Magic at SHS, and school dress-up days, to name a few.
There are some challenges in life that require flexibility, persistence and dedication to excel at — teaching is one such challenge. A good teacher can effectively manage student behaviors and relate pertinent information to students, but a great teacher builds a lasting relationship with each one of their students and emotionally facilitates their learning. These crucial relationships are at the heart of what happens in Liz Keller’s classroom every day.
She emphasizes strong relationships with her students and relies on their mutual trust and respect to propel student learning. She strives to bring an open mind, a positive attitude and high expectations into her classroom every day. Her greatest contributions to education are her passion for learning, her commitment to the students and her ability to break down barriers in pursuit of mathematical knowledge. She uses humor, honesty, and patience to coach her students. She regularly participates in professional development opportunities in search of strategies that can benefit them. She is excited to continue to grow, learn, and shape our community’s learners for many years to come.
Jennifer Torres, English Learner teacher
2022-2023 Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center Teacher of the Year
Jennifer Torres has been an English learner teacher for 17 years, including 10 years in Puerto Rico, two years in Harrisonburg, and four years in Staunton City. In addition to teaching, she has also been a tutor for Spanish learners and has assisted and guided parents of children with disabilities and youth with life skills. She has been recognized for her dedication and commitment to teach youth and for her performance and work in both public schools and juvenile corrections in Puerto Rico.
Famous educator, George Evans, once said that “Every child can learn. Just not on the same day or in the same way.” The belief behind this quote is what inspired Jennifer Torres’ passion for teaching. Jennifer helps her students to believe in their abilities and to understand the things that they can. She confirms daily to herself that she will always be a teacher as she rejoices to see how her students go through each of their learning stages.
Teaching respect is one of her biggest focuses. She teaches her students to recognize that she shows respect to them and is grateful to teach them and see their development over the years. This allows them also to understand how to give respect in return. It is important to Jennifer to be real and show her students that she is a human being just like them. She teaches that if we make mistakes, we can also make amends, be better, learn something new and turn the page to the next day. She feels that the greatest contribution that she has made is teaching her students these lessons.
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— Patrick Hite is The News Leader's education reporter. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Teachers of the year named by Staunton City Schools
