Jordi Vilanova, a music teacher at Walnut Springs Middle School; Kim Iatonna, a second-grade teacher at Robert Frost Elementary and the special education team as well as the eighth-grade football and basketball coaches at Heritage Middle School -- Jennifer Tyler, Adam Wirick, Carmen Dobbins, Deborah Braxton, Shannon Johnson, Liz Fanning Miller, Samantha Secrest, Lamar Wakefield, Mike Mays, Bobby Mitchell and Jimmy Goines. All have been named Westerville Education Foundation’s January Teachers of the Month.
WEF Executive Director Colleen Moidu, Superintendent Dr. John Kellogg and Executive Director of Human Resources Scott Reeves surprised recipients with the news Thursday.
Nomination letters for each recipient featured glowing praise:
Vilanova: “Mr. V. teaches band, a subject that many students opted not to take last year, due to the remote learning. He has done a terrific job of meeting the kids where they are this year, even though a very large portion of his 7th graders are total beginners.”
Iatonna: “Mrs. Iatonna is nice, thoughtful, and a really good teacher. I love to learn because of Mrs. Iatonna. I have grown a lot in my reading and math. She makes me really really happy:)”
Tyler, Wirick, Dobbins, Braxton, Johnson, Miller, Secrest, Wakefield, Mays, Mitchell and Goines: “As parents of a child with special needs, the cooperation and attitudes of these educators just can not be over appreciated. They have made a potentially scary experience not only easy on our son and us, but they have elevated that experience into a no worry educational experience that will have not only immediate repercussions but lifelong memories of the best kind.”
WEF recognizes teachers who have made an impact on their students, peers and school community. Sponsored by the Education First Credit Union, the Teacher of the Month program provides winners with $100 for their classroom funds.
To learn more about this month’s award winners and the Teacher of the Month program, visit the Westerville Education Foundation’s website.