Teachers at Apison and Middle Valley elementary schools and Signal Mountain Middle/High School are the Teachers of the Year for Hamilton County Schools.
Dr. Larrie Reynolds, executive director of the Missionary Ridge Learning community, presents Sara Pratt with 2019 Hamilton County Teacher of the Year. (Photo courtesy of Tim Hensley/Hamilton County Schools)A news release said Sara Pratt, a fourth-grade teacher at Apison Elementary; Michele Jones, a fifth-grade teacher at Middle Valley Elementary School, and Kristen Robertson, a ninth-grade teacher at Signal Mountain Middle/High, were surprised in their classrooms Friday with the news. They will now advance to the state level in the Teacher of the Year recognition for Tennessee.
According to the news release, Pratt has taught for four years, all at Apison Elementary. She said considers herself a facilitator of learning instead of someone who just imparts knowledge to the children in her class. In her classroom, she said, achievement starts with the culture of respect and authentic thinking she shares with her students.
"Children find that in my class they will struggle with problems, but in that struggle there is growth," said Pratt. "We celebrate this struggle and growth process by recognizing when our thinking has evolved as a result of learning."
Her students participate in class activities such as re-enacting King George's taxation using M&Ms, exploring kinetic energy through rubber-band launches, or spending time with books in the "Reading Café."
Joe Smith, Hamilton County Board of Education member representing District 3 congratulates Michele Jones for being selected 2019 Hamilton County Teacher of the Year. (Photo courtesy of Tim Hensley/Hamilton County Schools)
Dr. Shane Harwood, principal of Signal Mountain Middle/High and Dr. Robert Sharpe, executive director of the Rock Point Learning Community, presents Kristen Robertson with 2019 Hamilton County Teacher of the Year. (Photo courtesy of Tim Hensley/Hamilton County Schools)"I start with a foundation of knowing my students as individuals and this allows me to design instruction that helps everyone achieve," she said.
Jones has taught fifth-grade at Middle Valley Elementary since 2007, and has been a math and literacy teacher since 2016. She said she varies classroom practices and strategies depending on her students and the subjects, but high levels of growth and excitement for learning are a constant.
"During my first six years as a science and social studies teacher, I focused my teaching on hands-on experiments and discovery-based learning," Jones said. "When I move to math, I continued to engage my students with discovery-based experiments and quickly realized that the method was also a highly effective strategy in math as well."
She worked to create a partnership between Middle Valley Elementary and the North River Rotary Club that brought the Four-Way Test program to the school. The program encourages students to evaluate what they think, say and do by considering: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? and Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
Dr. Shane Harwood, principal of Signal Mountain Middle/High and Dr. Robert Sharpe, executive director of the Rock Point Learning Community, presents Kristen Robertson with 2019 Hamilton County Teacher of the Year. (Photo courtesy of Tim Hensley/Hamilton County Schools)Robinson teaches ninth-grade English at Signal Mountain Middle/High and also works to help 25 students each year complete personal projects for the International Baccalaureate Middle Years program.
She said building positive relationships and establishing a classroom environment with high expectations that encourages all students to embrace new challenges and academic risks is important.
Such relationships foster "the most authentic growth and learning because their students know that their teachers believe in them and want to invest in their lives," Robertson said. She said she makes it a priority to attend sporting events and interact with her students to build relationships.
"I use this information to invent fun activities that hook student interests at the beginning of lessons," she added. "I have found that going the extra mile on the front end to interact and build trust with my students makes a significant difference in their growth because they feel comfortable with me and want to do their best in my class."