Excellence in Early Education Award
As part of the symposium, Champions for Children will present well-deserved awards to honor the remarkable commitment of three early childhood educators. These awards recognize the foundation they lay for the children's future and the future of Teton County as a whole.
We are excited to announce the “Childhood Champion” Award which will be awarded to a grand prize winner ($5000) and two “Elite Educator” Awards ($2500 each). These awards aim to celebrate educators who have demonstrated innovative instruction, fostered a positive classroom environment, built strong relationships with colleagues and the community, and shown a commitment to personal and professional growth.
We invited nominations from parents, community members, fellow educators, and employers who have witnessed the outstanding contributions of early childhood educators in Teton County.
And the winners are...
Childhood Champion
$5,000 prize
Marina Chaperon
Teton Literacy Center
"Marina is a dedicated preschool teacher who truly cares about not just her students, but their families. In the classroom, Marina strives to meet each student where they are at, approaching teaching with intention, kindness, patience, humor and celebration of success. As the majority of her students come into the classroom from Spanish speaking homes, she ensures all instruction is bilingual, but does so in a way that is very smooth and hardly calls attention to it, ultimately benefiting both native English and Spanish speakers. She is adept in preparing students for kindergarten and expands these efforts to families, providing ongoing home visit support to approximately 10 families each academic year. She integrates opportunities for parents to come into the classroom and learn alongside her student and even goes so far as to teach "Parent as Teacher" small literacy groups, in which parents learn how to teach their students literacy lessons at home while their student is simultaneously there with them learning how to read!"
-TLC Colleague
Elite Educator
$2,500 prize
Arianna Mahoney
Children's Learning Center
"Not only does Ms. Arianna display the hugs and kindness of spirit one would hope to see in their child’s preschool teacher, but she also projects a confidence and control over her classroom that help foster independence and growth in each and every student. And she takes time to fully see and hear each of her students, coming to parent-teacher conferences and IEP meetings with unique insights and thoughtful suggestions to help kids (and parents) thrive."
-CLC Parent
Elite Educator
$2,500 prize
Beronica Oseguera
Children's Learning Center
"Beronica is dedicated to providing high quality infant care to the families in our program. She consistently participates in professional development on her own time and is always wanting to integrate new ideas into her classroom. She has created innovative materials like light boxes (a cardboard box with threaded string lights for children to explore) and infant appropriate fine motor activities using bottles and raw spaghetti. She has a great understanding of infant development and supports each child’s individual learning. She uses classroom observations as well as a formal assessment tool to see where a child might need more supports and then creates individualized lesson plans."
-CLC Colleague