Lewis County Board of Education Teachers of the Year

Koty Couch was recently selected as building level Teacher of the Year to represent the Lewis County Middle School. She currently teaches math and has a total of 11 years of teaching experience.

Ms. Couch feels that her students have been successful whenever she talks with her students, and they express that they feel prepared for the next level that faces them. She communicates with her students about the connection between content and real-world applications. There are discussions on how this would apply to the student or how it has been applied. Ms. Couch teaches her students about the national debt, inflation, job securities and their pros and cons. She really does enjoy watching her students develop and grow in math understanding.

Richard Mears was recently selected as building level Teacher of the Year to represent the Lewis County High School. He is currently the Spanish teacher and has a total of 24 years teaching experience.

Mr. Mears continuously asks his students questions in the target language and the students must respond in Spanish. The students must also demonstrate their knowledge of Spanish on tests and quizzes. He offers a "grade contract" for struggling students if they failed the first nine weeks. He stated that he has had several students take advantage of this opportunity and pass the class. He tries to educate students in many aspects, not only in the Spanish language that he teaches. Mr. Mears will offer his students extra credit for the boys who wear a tie and formal attire and the girls who wear a formal dress or shirt when they are making a presentation. The main reason for this attire request is to help prepare them on using the appropriate attire for an interview.

Haley Mitchell was recently selected as building level Teacher of the Year to represent the Lewis County Elementary School. She currently teaches second grade and has a total of four years teaching experience.

Mrs. Mitchell believes that the success of her students, by their performance on assessments and how it will help them see how they interpret everything they have learned throughout the standard, will enable them to put into work form and answer grade level specific questions. She focuses a lot on classroom participation to see how the information was relayed in their learning and how it is associated back to her for comprehension of material. She feels very fortunate to be a part of the Elementary School yearbook as the yearbook editor. She believes that education transcending the classroom is the overall goal of any educator. She works to make sure that all students understand how the standards and subject material will carry over into their everyday walk of life. One thing that she enjoys is when she takes her students on Virtual Field Trips to places that have vast history, scientific, or geographical area of learning and the students can use what they have learned and apply it in a hands-on activity that makes learning fun.

Ginnon Kilpatrick was recently selected as building level Teacher of the Year to represent the Lewis County Intermediate School. She is currently the Physical Education teacher and has a total of 8 years teaching experience.

Ms. Kilpatrick believes that Physical Education is important to improve each student's overall health and physical well-being. She feels that physical education contributes to building a better school culture through a structured recess, extracurricular activities, or recess. To ensure that education transcends the classroom, students need to be able to connect what they learn to real life experiences. Students have an opportunity to improve their teamwork skills and problem-solving skills. These are lifelong skills for all students.