{"id":6513,"date":"2019-02-24T20:04:05","date_gmt":"2019-02-25T01:04:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/?p=6513"},"modified":"2019-02-24T20:59:49","modified_gmt":"2019-02-25T01:59:49","slug":"celebrating-our-elementary-teacher-of-the-year-nominees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/celebrating-our-elementary-teacher-of-the-year-nominees\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating Our Elementary Teacher of the Year Nominees"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s that time of year when we introduce you to the teachers who were nominated for The Washington Post<\/i> Teacher of the Year Award.<\/p>\n

The Washington Post<\/i> award recognizes excellence in teaching and encourages creative and quality instruction. Earlier this year, each ACPS principal chose one teacher from their school to move forward to the ACPS finalist round based on nominations from parents, students and colleagues. One of the finalists is then selected as the ACPS Teacher of the Year and the division nominee for The Washington Post<\/i> Teacher of the Year Award.<\/p>\n

Last year, ACPS was delighted to recognize T.C. Williams High School AP Physics Teacher Laura Simons<\/a>, as our selection.<\/p>\n

This week, we shine a light on elementary school teacher nominees. Next week we will highlight secondary school teacher nominees, followed by our support staff nominees for our first annual Support Staff of the Year Award. This year\u2019s winners for Teacher, Principal and Support Staff of the Year will be announced in April.<\/p>\n

Read what their students, families and colleagues had to say about the nominees and congratulate these special teachers when you see them.<\/p>\n

Elementary Teacher of the Year Nominees<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"KellyKelly Bucceri
\n<\/b>Special Education Teacher
\n<\/b>Charles Barrett Elementary School<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. Bucceri is an incredible asset to our Charles Barrett Elementary School community. Mrs. Bucceri is an incredibly competent and creative teacher for all types of learners. Her patience and command of the classroom are clear from the moment you enter. Calm and good humor are evident in every interaction, and this is no small thing in what can be a high-press world of education.\u201d\u00a0\u2014 Kelly and Matthew, Charles Barrett Elementary School parents<\/p>\n

Katie Davidson\"Katherine
\n<\/b>Third Grade Teacher
\n<\/b>Douglas MacArthur Elementary School<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cMs. Davidson is an unbelievably dedicated teacher. She is constantly searching for ways to engage and motivate her students. Katie is a true mentor, she builds strong relationships with her students and invests in their families and lives. Ms. Davidson always shows respect and kindness to every soul she encounters. Staff and students feel her warmth and leadership fill the building.\u201d\u00a0\u2014 Hannah Christy, Douglas MacArthur Elementary School teacher<\/p>\n

\"MariaMaria Fletcher
\nEnglish Language Arts Teacher
\nMount Vernon Community School<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cMs. Fletcher, you are warm and welcoming to everyone, not only in your class, but the entire school. You take the time to get to know your students and their families and were a fabulous teacher for our son. Thank you for being there for him and for all of the students in your class!\u201d\u00a0\u2014 Ava and Vinny, Mount Vernon Community School parents<\/p>\n

\"KourtneyKourtney Keen
\nKindergarten Teacher
\nJohn Adams Elementary School<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMs. Keen is a dynamic educator, an instinctive team builder and a model of personal conduct and character. Mrs. Keen possess an infectious positive attitude and is simply a pleasure to be around. Mia comes home with a zest for learning and looks forward to school each day. Undoubtedly, this motivation is due to the influence of Mrs. Keen and the entire team.\u201d \u2014 Pamela, John Adams Elementary School parent<\/p>\n

\"\"Scott Keplinger
\nSpecial Education Teacher
\nLyles-Crouch Traditional Academy<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI marvel at Mr. Keplinger\u2019s ability to understand each child\u2019s needs, tailor instruction taking into account varying goals that must be met for each child, and instill a desire to learn and achieve when doing so is a daily struggle for these children.\u201d \u2014 Julia, Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy parent<\/p>\n

Katie Knowles\"Katie
\n<\/b>English Language Teacher
\n<\/b>Matthew Maury Elementary School<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cMs. Knowles is very nice and she loves to help us whenever we need her. And she never lets us give up. She gives us compliments so we won\u2019t give up. And she is always awesome, whenever she comes into our room she always keeps a warm smile. And Ms. Knowles always brings a kind heart into the class. And Ms. Knowles is always available to help you. And Ms. Knowles is always kind hearted and a good role model. And she is amazing for everything she does for us.\u201d\u2014 Joshua, Matthew Maury Elementary School student<\/p>\n

\"ElsyeElyse Lerman
\n<\/b>First Grade Teacher
\n<\/b>William Ramsay Elementary School<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cMs. Lerman has proven to be an excellent teacher and a wonderful asset to my son and the entire family as a whole. There isn\u2019t a single day my son doesn\u2019t reference her name on something he can read or he learned from school. I have seen more improvement in my son\u2019s life since he went to Ms. Lerman\u2019s class. Ms. Lerman has been a mentor to my son and is someone he always wants to learn from.\u201d\u2014 William Ramsay Elementary School parent<\/p>\n

\"Deborah<\/b>Deborah Perry
\n<\/b>Special Education Teacher
\n<\/b>Samuel W. Tucker Elementary School<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cMy daughter is now a risk taker in her learning. She is not afraid of making mistakes and actually enjoys learning from her mistakes. I give credit to Ms. Perry for instilling this love of learning in my daughter.\u201d\u2014 Kelly, Samuel W. Tucker Elementary School parent.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"AmandaAmanda Priestley
\n<\/b>English Language Teacher
\n<\/b>James K. Polk Elementary School<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cMs. Priestly was one of the best teachers I could wish for. She was like an angel except she doesn\u2019t fly. If I was upset and if I hug her that would brighten my day. I never doubted her I was looking up to her, She was like a model for me. She always told me to follow my dreams. If you have a frown on your face if you look at her she will brighten your whole day.\u201d\u00a0\u2014 James K. Polk Elementary School student<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"\"April Rodgers<\/b>
\n<\/b>Physical Education Teacher
\n<\/b>Ferdinand T. Day Elementary School<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cMost mornings, you can find Ms. Rodgers at the corner of Beauregard and Rayburn Avenue. She makes sure that our kids cross the street safely and if she sees the last bit of kids coming up that hill, she will wait for them if it is close to or right at 8:00 a.m. and walk with them (or jog) into school. She greets every family on that busy corner and no matter the weather (rain, sleet, snow or heat) she is out there, and you know you can count on a smile from Ms. Rodgers! Our school community is overjoyed and thankful that we have her!\u201d \u2014 Ferdinand T. Day Elementary School parent<\/p>\n

\"AmyAmy Salleh
\n<\/b>Preschool Teacher
\n<\/b>Early Childhood Center<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of Ms. Salleh\u2019s greatest strengths is her ability to connect with each student and their families. It is through this bond that she instills a love of learning in each child that last longer than just their preschool experience. Ms. Salleh gives each of her students the foundation they need to become lifelong learners.\u201d \u2014 Dawn Bingham, Early Childhood Center teacher<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Christine Scherrer\"Christine
\n<\/b>Third Grade Teacher
\n<\/b>Cora Kelly School for Math, Science and Technology<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cMs. Scherrer is a great teacher because when kids in are class are not having a great day she helps them. And when we think something is not cool she makes it fun. I love her and she loves us, too. She is funny and caring, too.\u201d \u2014 Cora Kelly School for Math, Science and Technology student<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Amanda<\/b>Amanda Williams
\n<\/b>Art Teacher
\n<\/b>George Mason Elementary School<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cMs. Williams is kind, caring, creative, attentive, extremely skilled, inspiring knowledgeable and a truly wonderful teacher. My daughter has told Ms. Williams and me that she wants to be an art teacher when she grows up\u00a0\u2014 and I think that is the biggest compliment a teacher can receive \u2014 that one of their students wants to be JUST like them.\u201d \u2014 Marie, George Mason Elementary School parent.<\/p>\n

\"Jebren<\/b><\/p>\n

Jebren Zakar
\n<\/b>Special Education Teacher
\n<\/b>Patrick Henry School<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for helping me on my reading skills, spelling, and reading better. You helped me on picking a better friend. You help me choose friends that will lead me to good things! In my opinion about you being a good teacher is ten out of ten.\u201d \u2014 Jose, Patrick Henry School student.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Meet the exceptional ACPS elementary teachers nominated for the ACPS Teacher of the Year award and The Washington Post Teacher of the Year Award, and read why their students, families and colleagues believe they deserve recognition. Next week we’ll shine a light on secondary teachers who were nominated and the following week, the support staff who were nominated for our inaugural Support Staff of the Year Award. The overall Washington Post winner and the ACPS winner will be announced in April.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":6535,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kudos-to-staff"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-16 21:58:39","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6513"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6513\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6550,"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6513\/revisions\/6550"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}