The TCPalm Teacher of the Week for June 20 is Laura Pettit, math teacher at Storm Grove Middle School in Indian River County.
TCPalm wants to recognize Treasure Coast teachers making a difference for their students and schools. Readers — parents, administrators, students, community members and other teachers — nominate their favorite teachers each week.
This week, 15,609 votes were cast in the poll, with Pettit receiving 51% of the vote.
What the nominator said: “Laura is a dedicated teacher. She never misses a day of work, or comes in late. She spends countless hours in and out of the class preparing, teaching, tutoring and mentoring. Her scores are among some of the highest in the district for math and her pass rate is exceptional. She helps out wherever and whenever she is needed, whether it is covering classes, lunch/bus duty, attends meetings and volunteers as the high school dive coach.”
Here’s what other nominators said:
“She’s an amazing person and loves to help. There is no one more deserving of Teacher of the Week than Laura; she wants to see her students succeed more than anyone else.”
TCPalm invites you to support your favorite teacher by voting in this poll. And then revisit it to learn about the amazing teachers on the Treasure Coast.
Voting began 5 a.m. Sunday and ended noon Friday.
Scroll down to see information about each of this week’s teachers.
Elizabeth Lecher, Port St. Lucie High School, St. Lucie County
What the nominator said: “Mrs. Lecher is an amazing teacher! She has been at Port St. Lucie High since the beginning! She is my son’s ESE support teacher and is such an awesome person! She emails me every week to give me an update on my son. She has made the transition to high school so easy and makes me feel secure there is someone looking out for my son!”
Don McKindles, Martin County High School, Martin County
What the nominator said: “Mr. McKindles is an amazing teacher that both of my kids had for IB/AP Human Geography. He made this boring subject exciting and fun for his students. But more importantly, he’s the teacher that taught his students about life skills that they will remember and use long after they leave high school and will help them become productive and successful adults. Hopefully, every student is lucky enough to have a teacher like Mr. McKindles.”
Dru Thompson, Allapattah Flats K-8, St. Luce County
What the nominator said: “Mrs. Thompson is my daughter’s agricultural education teacher. She is also her FFA advisor. Mrs. Thompson not only educates the kids during the day in agricultural education but spends countless hours before and after schools and on weekends. The kids get hands-on experience with live farm animals at the school’s barn. She also spends time taking her students to competitions all over Florida, supporting them at the St Lucie County Fair.”
Colleen Wixon is the education reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: TCPalm Teacher of the Week announced for June 13-20
Reporting by Colleen Wixon, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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