Governor's Awards - Teachers and Educational Service Professionals of the Year 2024 / Winfield Scott (2024)

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Second Grade Teacher

Teaching was always in my blood. My grandmother was a teacher, my mother was a teacher, and I felt a deep passion to carry on this tradition to become a teacher myself.

Growing up I always loved playing school with my friends. We would play this with any chance we got. This wasn’t any ordinary school with dolls, deskwork, and constant recess, we would create various scenes with real-life problems. I remember loving how every day there were new events, challenges, ideas, and issues that needed to be solved. It was times like these where I knew my passion for teaching was strong and would be taken far beyond my parents’ playroom.

As I became older, the dream of being a teacher became stronger each day. To test the waters to make sure this was really something I was going to go all in on, I joined a club in High School that allowed me to volunteer with children at an elementary school and get a taste of the real world of teaching. From there on I was hooked. Being with those young school children and seeing how I could have such an impact on shaping their lives not only made me want to continue my journey forward, but also solidify the age group that I would ultimately gear my focus towards. To get even further exposure and feed my desire to teach, I would also volunteer at my synagogue and help the younger students in religious school once a week.

If I had a choice to go hang out with friends or work with children, I always picked the latter. I always wanted to make a difference. Never in a million years did I believe I would make a difference by working in a low-income Title 1 district. Today, I have the privilege of living my dream and making a difference. Not a lot of people can say that.

Most teachers don’t realize that they impact every child they encounter and change their life. A simple lesson or interaction can make the biggest difference to a child. As teachers, we challenge our students to think outside of the box. They are logical but critical thinkers as well. I am a strong believer of creating a loving and supportive classroom environment. This environment allows the students to feel safe and are able to express themselves more freely.

I am a strong believer in tying in lessons with the current events and making connections to ourselves. We use the world around us. When students make these connections, they are more likely to remain engaged and willing to learn. By building an inclusive environment that is essential for effectively teaching culturally diverse students in the classroom is crucial. As a teacher, you are creating a space that embraces and celebrates cultural diversity, as you are providing a foundation for all students to thrive. An open dialogue in the classroom is critical. Students need to feel safe in their space to participate and express themselves.

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School Nurse

When I was in high school, I knew I wanted to help people. I wanted to make an impact on the lives of people by helping them through the healing process. Nursing fulfilled that need for me. As a School Nurse, I help to bridge the gap between health care and education to improve academic outcomes. In addition to providing first aid and responding to urgent or emergent situations, I provide care coordination for students with special health needs. I ensure immunization compliance and medical emergency preparedness. I try to make sure student needs are met. I act as a resource for families looking for health care providers, assist with obtaining health insurance and even help families who need food. I help create accommodations as part a multidisciplinary team. I conduct screenings which help identify barriers to learning such as vision or hearing loss. I strive to be relevant and innovative in promoting health and wellness, disease prevention, and health education for the entire school community. Some of the skills I use as a school nurse include collaborative communication, adaptability, critical thinking, organization, prioritization, time management and the ability to remain calm in emergency situations.