BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. (WSVN) — Five educators have emerged as finalists in the race for the title of “Teacher of the Year.” Selected from a pool of over 200 dedicated professionals, these teachers exemplified the commitment to shaping the young minds of Broward County’s public schools.
The five finalists vying for title may have different backgrounds but they all have one thing in common: they share a passion for their students and their profession.
Among the competitors is Angela Cohen, a literacy coach at Indian Trace Elementary School in Weston.
“It allows me to impact the whole school, so over 700 students each day as well as work with 35 teachers,” Cohen said in an interview with 7News. “I have the ability to push into classes and model lessons with the use of technology.”
Nicole Coutain-Marshall, also a literacy coach, goes beyond traditional academic boundaries.
“When you don’t feel good inside, this is one of the assignments you can do, you can color, you can draw, start creating things,” said Coutain-Marshall to her students as 7News cameras captured her teaching methods in her classroom.
She founded the “Girls Like Me” group at Village Elementary in Sunrise.
“Usually when people think about school, they think about reading, math, science, social studies, but in order for children to be productive in education it’s important to focus on the entire child and not just one area,” explained Coutain-Marshall to 7News reporters.
“Remember, your cuff should be completely deflated. That looks good, that looks good,” said Monique Acher, a former cardiac rehab therapist turned career and technical teacher, as she taught her class.
Acher is also the department chair and magnet coordinator at South Broward High School in Hollywood.
“As I’m teaching, I like to point out the skills they learn in language arts class, the skills they learn in math class, right? How to make mathematical conversions. So it all comes together for them and I think that’s the special piece behind career and technical education,” said Archer.
Dr. Claudia Singkornrat, a former chiropractor, transitioned into teaching science at Pompano Beach High School. Despite facing a pay cut, Dr. Singkornrat said she values her impact on students’ lifelong learning skills.
“How can they become lifelong learners? How can they take skills from the school into the workforce and home that will help them? Like working together, improving their critical thinking skills, researching materials, all of that is important to me,” emphasized Singkornrat.
Nadine Lallouz, with 11 years of teaching in Broward’s virtual school, embraced online learning before COVID-19 so students could choose a combination of tech and teaching.
“We get to dissect text, learn how to write fluidly,” said Lallouz as she explained her teaching skills. “I do meet with my students. Not as a group weekly, but daily. I do writing conferences with them. At any given point in the day, I’m on the phone, I’m in a Zoom and I’m working with students.”
After earning top honors at their respective schools, they are now in the running for the Teacher of the Year award. As Dr. Singkornrat put it, “I truly, truly care about my kids.” — a sentiment all the teachers can certainly agree on.
The Teacher of the Year will be announced at the Caliber Award Ceremony where more Broward County employees will be honored. The event will take place at 6 p.m. on Feb. 2 at the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center.
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