|
 SALT LAKE
CITY — East High School social studies teacher Leigh
VandenAkker was named Utah's 2012 Teacher of Year at a
banquet Friday evening.
VandenAkker was awarded a $10,000 check and will compete
with winners from other states in a national competition.
VandenAkker was selected out of 18 nominees by a state
committee made up of representatives from the Utah State
Office of Education, principals, superintendents, the Utah
PTA, the Utah Education Association and last year's winner,
Highland Elementary School kindergarten teacher Gay Beck.
“Every so often I ask students ‘What teacher gets the most
out of you, has the highest expectations, and has made the
biggest difference in your life,’” said East High Principal
Paul S. Sagers Jr. in a prepared statement. “Inevitably,
students quickly respond ‘Mrs. V.’ Her philosophy is to
inclusively connect all students to school with a ‘whatever
it takes’ attitude in order to make sure they graduate and
leave with a rigorous and quality learning experience.”
VandenAkker will also receive an interactive white board,
classroom amplification system and a laptop computer. She
will join other teachers of the year in meeting with
President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., and will attend
space camp in Alabama next summer.
Jared Berrett, of Blanding, a technology, digital media and
engineering teacher at San Juan High School, and Jennifer
Bodell, of South Jordan, a sixth-grade teacher at Harry S
Truman Elementary School in West Valley City, were named as
runners up and each received a check for $4,000.
East High Parent Teacher Student Association President
Milissa Mecham said of VandenAkker, "She gives students the
greatest education of all — the skills to be successful in
both academics and relations. |
