Teacher of the Year!!!

Congrats to my little sister, Gladys!!! She was just named Teacher of the Year for James H. Bright Elementary, Hialeah, FL. She is also featured in one of the posters showing teachers reading in order to promote reading. (Point of interest: Gloria Estefan's mother was a teacher at this school.)

I am very happy for her. The down side is that now she had to fill out all that paperwork and get interviewed and observed for the next level of "Teacher of the Year".

FYI: Gladys is a National Board Certified Teacher and has two Master's Degrees (Montessori Education and Reading). She has been at the same school for more than 10 years and currently has an ex-student as a teaching intern. There is no one in her school who has not been touched by her ..... from the Principal to the Maintenance Staff. She is dedicated to the students, parents and teachers.

Now my soapbox: Teachers are the leaders in children's education. They are the day to day person that directly deal with all the good and bad things that occur in the classroom. Due to budget cuts, Gladys did not receive her promised bonus/extra pay for mentoring teachers taking the National Board Certification Exam (including teachers from other schools) and is not being paid for training and consulting for an after school tutoring program (at another location) to assist students taking the FCAT Exam. This was all done off school time ...... So, who exactly is being left behind?

Okay, back to the good thing. I am very proud of my sister and all the hard work and caring she puts in daily for the community of her school.