Rotary Club of Florence Kentucky Celebrate 2021 Teachers of the Year
BY: Autumn Ray, Ignite Intern for Stinger Media
Florence, Kentucky – April 26, 2021 – The Rotary Club of Florence held their annual celebration recognizing four teachers as Teachers of the Year on Monday, April 26, 2021 at the Ignite Institute. The Club recognized all teachers across the county who have adjusted to the demands of the pandemic and to non–traditional Learning. The winners for 2021 are Amber Bowen from Boone County High School, Carrie Mayer from Walton – Verona High School, Susan Hartman from New Haven Elementary, and Stephanie Erwin from St. Paul School. Rhonda Chisenhall announced the winners of the Teacher of The Year award as well as recognized the teachers for the hard work they have done that exemplifies Rotary’s motto of “Service Above Self”.
Amber Bowen is a special needs educator at Boone County High School (@BCHS_Rebels1955). Special needs education is time and work intensive in terms of the regulations required to follow. She is amazing at providing the best education for all her students while following the required regulations. Ms. Bowen works with the mindset of ‘she is not in a classroom to not only help the special needs students but to help all students.’ She co-teaches courses which means a content teacher is the expert on the content and she is the expert on teaching strategies to all students struggling to mastery of the content. Many students gravitate towards her for her ability to help anyone. She is able to balance all students in a small group setting whom are working on different content areas, skills and have different educational needs. She is very patient, but at the same time she pushes her students to high expectations and teaches them to never settle for less than their best. Often times she is the only teacher who can calm a high-risk student relates to so she is the one who can help them return to the classroom learning environment. She goes above and beyond to help students, for instance, a student named Franklin stayed after school searching for a teacher to help him with his math. Many days she would stay after school until 5pm to help Franklin. Ms. Bowen has gone as far as writing a letter on his behalf so instead of being deported he could stay in this country and go to Northern Kentucky University to finish school.
Stephanie Erwin is a kindergarten teacher at St. Paul School (@stpaulflorence); during her school year, Ms. Erwin was a critical member in developing an NTI plan for the possibility that schools had to use remote learning. The Governor Beshear demanded all schools be closed after Thanksgiving. St. Paul school was prepared. Ms. Erwin adjusted quickly and was able to teach the core content to her students along with respect and responsibility She encourages her students to try new things and calibrates their success. Although Ms. Erwin has a family of her own, she makes the time to volunteer for school functions and activities that serve the school community. Many of her students want to stay in kindergarten forever and often times they come back the next year to help with her new class. She was humbled when one of her colleagues told her that she inspired them to apply to some colleges to finish their BA in early childhood to be able to teach kindergarten one day.
Susan Hartman is a fourth-grade teacher at New Haven Elementary School (@NewHavenES). She has been a special education teacher for 22 years in the Boone County School system. She is an exemplary model of what a 21st century teacher looks like and exemplifies the art of adapting to different student’s needs. In March of 2020 she went from a busy day to an even busier day. She was online all day with students interacting and engaging with them from 8am to 3:30pm. She worked with them throughout the day as should be expected with virtual learning. She not only taught them but connected to her students and leaned about their interests and home lives. She is now able to make assignments that connect to the students’ backgrounds and their needs. Ms. Hartman understands that school can be a refuge for many students, so she gives her students much praise due to the fact that they may not be receiving it at home. She strives to make her students school experience safe and rewarding for them. She has spent countless hours beyond the school day to help and support students and families with their needs whether they be social, emotional, or academic. She serves as a leader among the staff at New Haven, shares her skills and lends her knowledge and abilities, as well as subs for classes when a substitute teacher is not available for special education.
Carry Mayer is a social studies teacher at Walton–Verona High School (@WaltonVeronaHS). On March 11, 2020 when schools were mandated to close, Ms. Mayer adapted to virtual learning fairly quickly for her students and was able to develop lessons for her student’s that continues to align with her lesson plans. When students in her class did not have reliable internet or had technical difficulties, she would provide alternative assignments or physical copies for her students. Ms. Mayer took it upon herself to reach out to students who had missing assignments to see what support she could provide. Ms. Mayer volunteered countless hours to make sure students had a meaningful experience during such trying times. She volunteers 12 hours three days to deliver chrome books to the students and volunteered for the entire 12 hour extended walk through ceremony to make sure the seniors of 2020 had a graduation even though it delayed the celebration of her own son’s graduation. She is one of the most involved teachers at Walton-Verona and she over sees many student activities. She motivated the students to come to the school and be a part of something above themselves.
All four teachers; Carry Mayer, Susan Hartman, Stephanie Erwin, and Amber Bowen received a plaque, a banner, and a check for $250. All teachers have done a great job of adjusting to the demands of the pandemic and there were many great applicants, although these teachers did an exemplary job of living by the motto ‘service above self’ on a day to day basis by helping their friends, family, colleagues, students and others within the community.
Each recipient received a Senate Citation and Kentucky Colonel Award arranged by State Senator John Schickel (@SenatorSchickel) along with Boone County (@BooneCountyKy) Proclamation presented by Judge Executive Gary Moore (@judgegarymoore).
A recording of this presentation and past meetings of the Rotary Club of Florence is available on the club’s Facebook Page:
The Rotary Club of Florence, Kentucky (serving all of Boone County) is a community service organization focusing on “service above self”. The club meets weekly on Mondays in a hybrid format of in person (at the Ignite Institute) and on Zoom at noon. Guests are always welcome. To learn more about upcoming speakers and events, please visit the club’s website at www.florencerotary.org or follow their Facebook page.
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