Two graduates of the USF College of Education were recently named teacher of the year in the university’s partner school districts, and several others were nominated for the district-wide awards program.
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Maude Graham, 40, a third-grade teacher at Rosabelle Blake Academy, was named Teacher of the Year for her incorporation of hands-on reading and writing activities, including scavenger hunts, rope climbing excursions and other out-of-the-box lessons. She also shares her life story with various groups, serves as a mentor, organizes parent/teacher events and spearheads a leadership program for third- through fifth-graders called “Leader in Me.”
Lisa Gill, a paraeducator at Jesse Keen Elementary School in Lakeland, was named School-Related Employee of the Year. She oversees the school s weekend backpack distribution program to make sure students have enough to eat. Following Hurricane Irma, she worked with First United Methodist Church to create a food and supply bank at the school and helped find housing for families whose homes were damaged.