Fort Polk Progress, as part of its Education Initiative, recognizes three educators, recently selected as Vernon Parish teachers of the year and honored at a ceremony at Fort Polk on March 13 and hosted by Brig. Gen. William Hickman, commanding general of Fort Polk and the Joint Readiness Training Center.
The honorees, Patti DeTommaso, Lana Hebert, and Abigail Newton, were each awarded a certificate from Gen. Hickman, acknowledging their accomplishments. Others in attendance to help honor the teachers included representatives of the Fort Polk Progress Education Initiative, Fort Polk soldiers and family members, school principals and elected officials.
"The Education Initiative may have kind of taken off the last year and a half, but we all recognize this commitment to education didn't start a year and a half ago...there's been a whole lot of work going on for many, many years," said Gen. Hickman.
"Commitment to education is very important for everybody, but it's important on different levels. Obviously the highest level is with the kids and their families. And hopefully every month we see people demonstrating excellence here. Not everybody can be the Teacher of the Year, but there's a whole lot of people working really hard out here and we want to recognize that excellence as we go forward here."
"We're so proud of the teachers that are represented here today; it is their hard work that will really drive this education program even further and continue to keep Fort Polk on the forefront in the Army's eyes as the home of heroes," said Michael Reese, chairman of Fort Polk Progress.
"This is just a perfect example of the partnership and the support that the military really has for our school system, kids, and teachers. Our teachers don't stay up till midnight working on lesson plans and stay till four working with students that need a little extra help because they might get chosen as teacher of the year. They simply want to be the best teachers that they can possibly be," said James Williams, superintendent of Vernon Parish Schools.
Elementary Teacher of the Year For the past four years, Patti DeTommaso has taught third grade at West Leesville Elementary School where the military student population is 10 percent and is recognized as one of Louisiana Department of Education's High Performing/High Poverty School Award Recipients. Patti has been employed with the Vernon Parish School District for 14 years, first as a para-professional at West Leesville Elementary school, and next as a science teacher at Leesville Junior High School, before finally settling in at West Leesville Elementary School. She came to Vernon Parish when her husband (Edward DeTommaso) was moved to Fort Polk from Okinawa, Japan in February 2000.
Middle School Teacher of the Year Lana Hebert teaches 7th grade math and 8th grade science and is the cheerleading sponsor at Pickering Junior High School which boasts a 41 percent military student population. Her family members have served in nearly every branch of the armed services to include her father who served in the Air Force and retired as a civil service employee at Ft. Knox, and her husband who currently serves in the Merchant Marines. Hebert has taught eight years in schools where military dependents accounted for over 50 percent of the student body, and has lived at five military installations, knowing firsthand the challenges faced by this population.
High School Teacher of the Year Abigail Newton teaches English II and Fine Arts at Rosepine High School, which has a 14 percent military student population. Abigail's spouse has served in the Army for 15 years and is currently assigned to the 4/10th BCT as a Field Artillery Targeting Analyst. They arrived at Fort Polk in 2013 from Camp Casey, South Korea where Abigail taught kindergarten and instructional fitness classes for soldiers and civilians.
To see photos of the event, click here. --end--
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