Judson
A Northwood Elementary School first-grade teacher is in the running for a national Teacher of the Year award.
Teachers of Tomorrow, one of the country’s largest alternative certification programs, named Kristi Judson one of nine finalists for the award. Judson is the only teacher representing Indiana, with other educators representing Michigan, Florida, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas, Alabama, Arizona and North Carolina. Whoever gets the most votes among those nine teachers through Sept. 1 will be named Teacher of the Year, according to a news release from Teachers of Tomorrow.
People can vote for their teacher of choice at: teachersoftomorrow.org/toty
The Teacher of the Year Award recognizes teachers who display hard work and passion in educating students. Judson received $500 and a six-month professional development membership to Oviedo, Florida-based education consultant SimpleK12 for reaching the finalist stage. The national winner will get a $5,000 prize, which Judson wants to use to buy alternative seating options and vertical, non-permanent surfaces to enhance learning and critical thinking in the classroom, Judson said in the release.
“My classroom is generally comprised of one-third special education students,” she said. “Several of those students are coming to me with a recommendation of seating accommodations. If I had extra funds, I could purchase a variety of seating options that could help many of my students focus and learn.”
