Who will win? Alachua County Teacher of the Year to be announced this week
Alachua County's Teacher of the Year will be announced Thursday during a ceremony at Trinity United Methodist Church.
The ceremony — hosted by The Education Foundation for Alachua County Public Schools — will honor finalists Dwynette Smith, Sarah Rendek and Jenifer Knowles, along with the district's 36 other nominees
The finalists
Smith, the elementary school finalist, has been teaching music in private settings and public schools since 1998. She now teaches music at Metcalfe Elementary School and has been there for almost four years. She also taught for six years at Buchholz High School.
In a press release announcing the finalists, Smith said she believes music can be a spark or catalyst for students to succeed in other areas.
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“I love giving them that joy, that place where they can be successful,” she said in the press release. “Even when you have a child that’s struggling, to have that one victory, where they can play the notes you want, play their own melody or create something that they know is theirs, there’s nothing that can compare.”
Rendek, the middle school finalist, is a reading teacher at High Springs Community School, where she has worked for more than eight years.
The press release said Rendek, who has been a teacher for more than 13 years, enjoys teaching middle school students, as they are beginning to figure out who they are and where they want to go in their lives.
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“I want to be a light in their lives, their positive role model and their cheerleader,” she said in the press release. “In class I give them the freedom to express themselves, which allows them to grow as human beings, but also under the guidance of appropriate expectations.”
Knowles, the high school finalist, has taught science for 19 years and is now a science teacher at the Professional Academies Magnet @ Loften High School. She has taught around the world in many different places, including in Michigan and New Zealand. In Alachua County, she previously taught at Oak View Middle and has now been at PAM@Loften for three years.
Knowles in the press release said she wants her students to know that science, and learning in general, is ongoing.
“I’m excited to share science with my students,” she said in the press release. “It’s important for them to see how what they’re learning translates to life outside the classroom. Sometimes the content lends itself well to this goal and other times the lessons are in life, technology, collaboration or other soft skills.”
The finalists and other nominees will be honored at Thursday's Robert W. Hughes Teacher of the Year ceremony, named in honor of the former superintendent of schools who established the program.
The winner will advance and represent the Alachua County School District in the statewide teacher recognition program.
Trinity United Methodist Church is located at 4000 NW 53rd Ave. A reception will begin at 5:30 p.m. followed by the program at 6:30.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Alachua County Teacher of the Year finalists 2024
