Winona ECFE/parent educator named 2011 Teacher of the Year
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Brooklyn Park, Minn., May 1, 2011 – Katy Smith, an Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE)/parent teacher at Goodview School in the Winona school district, has been chosen 2011 Minnesota Teacher of the Year. She is the first ECFE teacher to win the prestigious award in its 47-year history.
Smith says the core of her teaching philosophy involves answering the question, "How do we support young parents in a way that offers the best possible outcomes for children? I believe the answer to that question must begin with relationships, the emotional connections we make with other people."
Smith's classroom work involves working with new parents and parents of preschool children to help them understand early childhood development and to learn the educational methods that will allow children to be best prepared for preschool and kindergarten.
"Katy Smith has profoundly influenced the lives of preschool children and parents in our district with her combination of wisdom, life experiences, love and humor," said Bruce Ramsdell, president of the Winona Education Association, who nominated Smith for the award. "She is a wonderful example of what is possible when children and families start on the right path toward learning."
"Katy is amazing in the classroom," said Tina White Smeby, a Winona parent who has enrolled in Smith's ECFE classes. "She is knowledgeable, she is compassionate and she is motivational. Everyone leaves her class feeling like a better parent – one reason why her ECFE classes are so popular and are often filled to capacity."
Smith has taught in the Winona school district since 1993. She earned her master's degree at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse and her Bachelor of Arts degree from Winona State University. She will be Minnesota's nominee for National Teacher of the Year for 2012.
Education Minnesota, the 70,000-member statewide educators union, organizes and underwrites the Teacher of the Year program, which receives program and award support from the following organizations: SMART Technologies, The Northland Inn, the Harvard Club of Minnesota Foundation, United Educators Credit Union, McDonald’s Restaurants of Minnesota, TruStone Financial, Pearson Education and Education Minnesota ESI.
May 01, 2011