Mandarin High School history teacher Jim Schmitt was greeted by a few more visitors in his classroom compared to his usual batch of students on Tuesday morning. With a giant banner in hand, Florida Department of Education officials let the veteran teacher know that he was a 2022 Florida Teacher of the Year Finalist.
Schmitt is one of five finalists that were selected throughout Florida out of the state's more than 185,000 public school teachers. Each year, the Department of Education selects finalists from a pool of district Teachers of the Year.
In January, Schmitt — who has been in the field for 27 years — was named Duval County's Teacher of the Year. He was recognized for his work developing a writing program for at-risk students, writing a $10,000 grant for a school-to-work program and for serving as a standards coach. Before he became a teacher, Schmitt served as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy.