PARIS – Joanne Gregory of South Paris says she was beyond surprised when she was honored as Teacher of the Year at Poland Community School’s usual Wednesday morning Panther Pride assembly.
“I was flabbergasted,” she exclaimed Thursday afternoon, still excited.
Gregory has taught kindergarten and first grade at the Poland Community elementary school for 20 years.
The contest was sponsored by Sam’s Club in Augusta. All Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart stores in the the state held similar competitions. Gregory was chosen from a pool of 25 applicants, according to the Augusta Sam’s Club advantage coordinator, Luanne Gray, who attended Wednesday’s presentation. Gregory was one of 28 teachers honored in Maine, according to www.walmartfoundation.org.
“She had the best qualifications,” Gray said, adding that the person selected “needs to be a teacher who goes above and beyond.”
Two “outstanding” recommendations were written for Gregory by parents Jennifer Bero and Lauri Potter, whose children have been students in her class, Gray said.
Potter, a substitute teacher at Poland Community, said she met Gregory four years ago when her daughter was Gregory’s student. Her son, Jeffrey, is currently in Gregory’s first-grade class.
“She’s just an amazing teacher,” Potter said. “Lots of the staff and parents who know her love her.”
The principal of Poland Community, Carolyn Johnson, said, “She has an incredible amount of enthusiasm. When you go into her classroom, the kids are busy, active, always involved.” Johnson added that Gregory “knows each individual child well, what skills the kids have and where they need to go.”
In addition to the profusion of flowers she received Wednesday morning from colleagues at Poland Community, Gregory received a $50 gift certificate to be used at Sam’s or Wal-Mart, and a red Sam’s Club vest with the embroidered words “Teacher of the Year 2005.”
She also received something a bit more expedient, educationally speaking, a check for $1,000 made out to Poland Community School. Gregory is allowed to use her discretion on how the money gets spent for the school, and she plans to share the wealth beyond her beloved first-graders.
“That’s a good chunk of change. I’d like to spend it so more than just one group gets it,” she said. That sort of generosity jibes with Gregory’s expansive philosophy of teaching, and her sense that her award is not merely the result of one individual’s talent and effort. “The staff and families of students were honored through me,” she said, adding that “nobody teaches by themselves.”
For a little while, at least, Gregory isn’t finished with contests. Next, she goes up against the other Sam’s and Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year winners in Maine. If she triumphs at the state level, Gregory advances to the national competition. “This is exciting,” Gregory said. “I get a chance to make some money for the school.”
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