Moments ago, our prize patrol caravan showed up at Eastshore Elementary School and announced that fourth-grade teacher Shelley Naramore is the Elementary Teacher of the Year.
This time the big reveal came during a schoolwide fire drill on the windy Eastshore playground, where Naramore was celebrated by the entire school, as well as her husband, Scott; her daughter, Kimberly; and her parents, Pat and Ralph Parris. "I am overwhelmed," she told the NewsFlash. "There are so many deserving teachers in this district and to represent them is such an honor." Naramore, who teaches in IUSD's Alternative Program for Academically Accelerated Students -- you may know it as APAAS -- is recognized as a highly innovative educator, skilled in designing rich experiences that appeal to a broad range of learning styles, and she is particularly adept at meeting the needs of divergent thinkers and students with learning challenges. Colleagues say her classroom is an engaging environment that utilizes writing, performing and technology to promote critical thinking. Naramore’s passion for children extends beyond instruction, as she organizes an annual summer gathering designed to welcome new students and establish a sense of community. An IUSD educator since 1988, she has also led her classes in a number of service-learning projects, including last year’s successful effort to write and illustrate textbooks for children living in the Dominican Republic. So that takes care of the elementary and high school honors. Now it's time to surprise a few more Teachers of Promise before we head to our final stop, a middle school.