Three teachers at Lake County Schools were surprised recently when Superintendent Dr. Susan Moxley, School Board Members Debbie Stivender and Rosanne Brandeburg and Educational Foundation of Lake County President Joe Alexander arrived at their schools to present them with a bouquet of roses and news they were selected as finalists for Lake County Schools Teacher of the Year.
The teachers selected are Stephanie Hauff at East Ridge Middle School, Nancy Hunter at Leesburg High School and Maurice Simmons at Eustis Heights Elementary School. Teachers at each school were selected for the honor by their peers. After filling out an application packet, the teachers’ applications were scored by a panel of six judges.
Three judges will conduct a site interview with the finalists before making a final choice. Lake County Schools Teacher of the Year will be announced at a celebration dinner presented by the Educational Foundation of Lake County on Saturday, Feb. 26, at Lake Receptions in Mount Dora. More information about the three finalists includes:
Stephanie Hauff – With six years of teaching experience – three at East Ridge Middle School ? Hauff holds a master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Michigan State University. She currently is a ESE Cooperative Consultation Teacher/ESE Intensive Math Teacher/ESE Learning Strategies Teacher. QUOTE: “It is my responsibility to educate, inspire, listen, awaken the curiosity in young minds and provide students with the opportunity and tools to leave the classroom with the ability to educate themselves throughout their lives, to create their own image and to inspire and motivate themselves.”
Nancy Hunter – With 18 years of teaching experience – three at Leesburg High School – Hunter holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida. She currently is the Freshmen Foundations Teacher, a nine-week course new to Leesburg High School this year that educates freshmen on how to organize, prepare and plan for life after high school graduation. QUOTE: “It is hard to express the honor I feel being selected Leesburg High’s Teacher of the Year. To be awarded this at a school where some of Florida’s best teachers are employed, and to be chosen by those teachers to represent them, makes me fell on top of the world.”
Maurice Simmons – With four years of teaching experience – his first at Eustis Heights Elementary – Simmons holds bachelor’s degrees from Faith Christian University and Florida A&M University. He is currently a fourth grade teacher. QUOTE: “To quote Horace Mann: ‘A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on a cold iron.’ I want to be known as that teacher who instilled in his students the rich desire to learn.”
