Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/109814
Great Schools make Great Communities Two Linden Hill E.S. teachers chosen as WJBR���s Teachers of the Month he December WJBR Teacher of the Month is Lindsey Downer. She was nominated by one of her current first-grade students, Maggie Glynn, whose mother Kelly wrote this: ���My six-year-old daughter heard about your contest on the radio today She came right over to me to . ask if I could log on to www.jbr. com/teacher (I knew what she meant!) because she wanted to nominate her teacher for Teacher of the Month. Here is what she had to say . "I want to nominate her because she doesn't yell at us, and her smile is pretty She teaches us math, sci. ence and reading. She makes it fun to learn. T With A.J. Jackson are the food service workers and the school���s administrators: (Front row from left) Nancy Mears, A.J. Jackson, Denise Jacono (principal), Karen Voss. (Back from left) Rob Zachry (asst. principal), Trish Peterson, Denise Thompson, Lori Mahetta, Derrick Harris. Seaford School Custodian AJ Jackson WDSD���s ���All-Star Educator��� for December DSD 94.7FM chose Alfred A.J. Jackson to be its December ���All-Star Educator of the Month.��� Jackson works as a custodian at the Frederick Douglass Elementary School in Seaford. He is also vice president of his local, the Seaford Custodians Association. This new recognition program, sponsored by DSEA, seeks to increase the awareness of the public of the non-teaching school staff who help transport students to and from school safely; help keep schools clean, secure and running smoothly; help make sure students have nutritious breakfasts and lunches; and, in the case of instructional paraprofessionals, give many students the individualized instruction they need to be successful. Nominated by Nancy Mears, school nutrition manager, Jackson, she said, ������ goes above and beyond on a daily basis to make sure that our school is clean, inviting, safe and friendly He always lends a . helping hand, even when what he is being asked to do is not in his official job description. A.J. is truly a team player.��� She added that if he sees something that needs to be done, he���ll just do it, without needing to be asked. In the company of most of the cafeteria workers, Pam Nichols, DSEA���s director of communica- W www.dsea.org tions, surprised Jackson on Monday, January 7. Summoned from the kitchen where he was cleaning the floor, he was given a certificate, a special Cat in the Hat logo lunch box and a $25 gift certificate for Royal Farms. To make your own nomination, go to www.wdsd. com. With Lindsey Downer (red sweater) are (from left) WJBR���s Brian DeMay, Downer, Frederika Jenner and Kelly Glynn, mother of Maggie (Rudolph sweater), who nominated Downer. ���My two cents? Mrs. Downer has been instrumental in leading the curriculum for the first grade at Linden Hill. She also was an advocate for using smart boards. This year, all of the first grade classes have smart boards, and Lindsey helped teachers integrate them into their classroom. ���The fact that my six year-old took time away from playing with her Christmas toys to come up to ask me to log on to nominate her teacher tells me that Mrs. Downer is making a huge difference in the life of my child and at Linden Hill.��� To our surprise, Kelly told us that her father-in-law is a former DSEA president, George E. Glynn, Jr. who served from 1961-1962. He wanted very much to come to the presentation, said Kelly, but was not quite up to it. The January Teacher of the Month, Lauren O���Shea, also teaches first grade. She was nominated by a good friend, Ed Doyle, who said: ���When the terrible tragedy occurred in Newtown, CT, I imme- With Lauren O���Shea (center) are (from left) Jeff Robinson of Deerfield, Frederika Jenner, O���Shea, Brian DeMay of WJBR and Steve Furman of Deerfield. diately thought of my friend Lauren O'Shea. It was not a thought of worry or fear, but instead a little prayer that the teachers at Sandy Hook E.S. would be as strong and caring and poised for their students as Lauren is for hers in these tough times. ���The woman cannot walk into a store without thinking of something for her classroom. She spent her first week of summer vacation preparing word cards for her students. She has described teaching as ���her life,��� and the way she does her job so well makes you think that each of us has a calling in life.��� Also present to surprise these two teachers were Steve Furman and Jeff Robinson from Deerfield Restaurant. They approached WJBR to sponsor an end-of-the-year dinner for all of the Teachers of the Month! ���Thank you for putting together such a positive program to recognize teachers in our area. The partnership between WJBR, school faculty, DSEA and Deerfield was a wonderful thing to see in action. My daughter and I were honored to have been selected to participate. Thank you again for celebrating and supporting our teachers, schools and community. Keep up the good work!��� - Kelly Glynn February 2013 DSEA ACTION! 7