[Edmentum’s Educator of the Year] Introducing Our 2018 Award Winners

Earlier this April we asked our customers to tell their own success stories or nominate fellow educators who are making an impact on the lives of students. Now, it's time to announce the winners of our third annual Edmentum Educator of the Year Awards! With so many incredible stories of amazing educators, selecting the winners was an incredibly difficult task.

This year’s winners not only stood out as teachers devoted to the achievements of their students, but also as educators who model what it means to be a champion of technology in the classroom. We would like to congratulate our winners on their incredible work, and thank ALL of the dedicated educators out there working hard to make a difference in the lives of students. So, without further ado, we’re excited to introduce our Edmentum Educator of the Year Award winners!

One grand prize winner, our 2018 Educator of the Year, was selected to receive a free trip to ISTE 2018 in Chicago as well as an $100 Amazon gift card.

Kristen Espina, Math Teacher, grades 6-7, Moundsville Middle School – Wheeling, WV

“This is the first year Edmentum was introduced to our school. There is always resistance when a new program is implemented, but Ms. Espina was instrumental in developing the Mystic Creatures incentive program which kept the faculty and students engaged. The results were improved student effort and because instructors would have students arriving at their doors every Friday to "capture" their creature, the teachers became positively engaged as well. As the program received steadily increasing buy-in from the students, it was contagious. You heard less concerns about the new program from the staff and more comments about how excited "Joey and Jane" were to capture the Bigfoot. She did a great job of helping the team implement a new program and stay abreast of the students’ progress.”

- Amy Ritz, Department Head, Mathematics, 6-8 at Moundsville Middle School

Additionally, we recognized three inspirational educators who all received $100 Amazon gift cards.

Stephanie Kearny - Science Teacher, grades 6-8 – Penn Alexander School – Philadelphia, PA

“Stephanie integrates technology effectively in all aspects of her instruction, but what I wanted to point out most was her devotion to making Science real world applicable for her students through project-based learning. Over the past three years, she has gained multiple grants to extend her student’s learning beyond the classroom. In two of the past three years, our school’s robotics team which she sponsors has won the city competition and competed at the National LEGO League championships. This year’s team developed a rainwater purifying system. She is a dedicated and devoted teacher, she’s hardworking, committed, and effective. She has made an impact on not only the students she teaches, but also the community. Our students are more environmentally aware and committed to becoming engaged citizens because of her.”

- Julie Mikolajewski, Middle School Literacy Teacher (6-8) at Penn Alexander

Jerry Hodge, Quest Teacher, grades 9-12 – Stafford High School – Stafford, TX

“Jerry is diligent about guiding the students through [Study Island and Courseware with fidelity.] Because our program has limited resources, Ms. Hodge teaches herself how to teach our students. She spends countless hours servicing our students beyond district recommended time. Ms. Hodge incorporates home visits as an additional outreach component. She diligently monitors all transcripts for quality assurance and makes it a priority to meet multiple times with potential graduates. I have witnessed her advising, counseling, encouraging, and realigning students. She is irreplaceable.”

- Carlotta Allen, Principal/6-12 Grade at Stafford Alternative Education Center

Kami Ferguson, Second Grade Teacher - Demorest Elementary – Demorest, GA

“Students are faced with greater rigor in our current educational culture. Her use of the Exact Path and Study Island digital tools has provided rigor and beneficial differentiated instruction. Her devotion to quality instruction and work has built an engaging digital environment. Because of her dedication and implementation of Exact Path and Study Island with fidelity, she has met the needs of all learners whether accelerating or remediating.”

- Beth St. Andre, Academic Coach K – 5 at Demorest Elementary

We want to send out a big thank you to everyone who took the time to submit a nomination for this year’s Edmentum Educator of the Year Awards—we were blown away by the positive response! Be on the lookout in the coming weeks for feature blog posts on each one of our phenomenal winners, and take a minute to meet last year’s winners here!