Martin County High School Teacher Jamie Herd-Tesson Named 2015-16 Education Foundation of Martin County’s Teacher of the Year
Stuart, FL – The Education Foundation of Martin County (EFMC) and the Martin County School District (MCSD) are proud to announce that Martin County High School 10th – 12th grade mathematics teacher Jamie Herd-Tesson has been named the District’s 2015-2016 Teacher of the Year.
The winner was announced during the Education Foundation of Martin County’s Teacher of the Year Awards Celebration on Friday, November 13, at the Port St. Lucie Civic Center. The event is presented by Infiniti Stuart and Audi Stuart.
Mrs. Herd-Tesson has 12 years of teaching experience all of which has taken place at Martin County High School. During her time at Martin County High School, she has had the opportunity to teach numerous math courses from Algebra 1 to Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus AB/BC. As the Advanced Placement Statistics teacher, she was selected to be an AP Grader and for the past two years, Mrs. Herd-Tesson has been the Advanced Placement Team Leader. In this capacity, she is responsible for leading the Advanced Placement Collaborative Team, the AP Mentoring Program, the AP Student Ambassador Program, the AP Parent Advisory Council, and organizing the AP Award Night event. She also mentors both teachers and students through different mentoring programs within the school. Amazingly, Mrs. Herd-Tesson is also the coach of the famed MCHS Tigerettes. This high caliber, award-winning, competitive dance team has earned national acclaim and performed at such venues as the Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, the Orange Bowl in Miami and at Disney under the tutelage and leadership of Mrs. Herd-Tesson. She is also a graduate of Martin County High School.
This Teacher of the Year also serves as an active member of the First United Methodist Church where she volunteers each year at Vacation Bible School. She is a mentor for the Take Stock in Children program and she volunteers at local events such as the Kiwanis Community Park Build, Downtown Tree Lighting Program and the Mental Health Awareness Walk.
In her application for the Teacher of the Year award, Mrs. Herd-Tesson wrote, “Change is here! Today, we are facing a great opportunity to make the needed adjustments in education to prepare students for a successful future in a highly competitive society. Now is the time for all students, parents, teachers, administrators, and politicians to work together to improve the quality of education that our students are receiving. Everyone must come together to determine the strengths of our current education system and then devise a plan to improve its weaknesses. Students must be prepared with the skills to allow them to work towards the future that they have chosen, and it is our job as educators to make sure that they are ready to face these challenges in an ever-changing global community. Change is not our enemy but our opportunity for greatness.”
Mario Murgado, President/CEO of Infiniti Stuart and Audi Stuart, said, “It is with great pleasure that Infiniti & Audi Stuart once again support The Education Foundation of Martin County – Teacher of the Year Celebration. It is not an easy job to select a winner, because you are all winners; you are winners every day you walk into a class room and teach. Thank you for the gift of your vocation and inspiring the children of Martin County. Once again, we are proud to be intricate partners with the Martin County Teacher of the Year Celebration and we extend our sincere and heartfelt congratulations to Mrs. Herd-Tesson. ”
David Bates, president of the EFMC, said of the winner, “Our schools are one of the greatest resources in Martin County and a primary reason many of us moved here. We are thankful for the dedication and professionalism of the teachers who have made this school district one of the best in the State of Florida. Mrs. Herd-Tesson is a shining example of our best here in Martin County. We wish her all the best as she represents Martin County in the running for Florida Teacher of the Year.”
Martin County School District Superintendent Laurie Gaylord said, “Jamie Herd-Tesson is the epitome of what all educators need to be. She has shown the kind of skill, passion and dedication that exemplify the very best of the most important, most demanding and most rewarding profession there is: teaching.”
Martin County High School principal Albert Fabrizio wrote in his recommendation of Mrs. Herd-Tesson as Teacher of the Year, “She brings to life our foundational principal of helping each one of our students across his or her own individual finish line by the myriad of contributions that she makes through building the capacity of our students and faculty. In the classroom, you will observe Jamie using the most cutting-edge instructional strategies that have the greatest impact on student achievement. Her goal is always that of putting her students first while making them both college and career ready. She is an exceptional role model for our students at Martin County and one that many, I am sure, would like to emulate.”
Mrs. Herd-Tesson will now represent the Martin County School District in the competition to become the Florida Department of Education’s Teacher of the Year.
In addition to honoring the District’s 2015-16 Teacher of the Year, winners were named in the categories of Elementary, Middle, and High School Teachers of the Year:
Elementary School Teacher of the Year – sponsored by Publix Super Markets Charities
Melissa Fischer-Rasmussen, Port Salerno Elementary, Third Grade Teacher
Mrs. Fischer-Rasmussen has been teaching for nine years, and has served Port Salerno Elementary for the last six years as an outstanding teacher in K-2 and now grade 3. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Mrs. Fischer-Rasmussen serves in a leadership capacity in the areas of parent training, technology integration with laptop carts, teacher mentoring, grant writing, data-driven instruction and Balanced Literacy. She has also served as the vice president of Port Salerno’s PTO furthering her deep commitment to teacher-parent relationships.
Mrs. Fischer-Rasmussen wrote in her Teacher of the Year application, “As educators, we must commit to teaching. We must commit to literacy and all components wrapped tightly together. We must commit to mathematics because there is no new or old way, but infinite ways used to turn on the hypothetical light bulb. We must commit to dirty and splashy science, but really, the science that makes eyes go wildly big and uncontainable voices go, ‘Oooh…aaaah!’ We must commit to learning and growing. As everything changes so quickly around us, we must commit to concepts of lifelong learning – reflecting on successes and failures. True reflection is the ultimate reminder that we are all human beings capable of incredible miracles.”
Middle School Teacher of the Year – sponsored by The Education Foundation of Martin County
Julie Anne Carreiro, Hidden Oaks Middle School, 6th – 8th Grade Exceptional Student Education Teacher
Ms. Carreiro began teaching in Florida 16 years ago and has been the 6th – 8th Grade Exceptional Student Education Teacher at Hidden Oaks Middle School for the past seven years. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Ms. Carreiro coaches volleyball and girls basketball. She also writes the school sports news, organizes the annual all sports banquet and runs the concession stand when she is not actively coaching a game.
In her Teacher of the Year application, Ms. Carreiro wrote, “Every child, regardless of disability, has the potential to learn, be successful, and value themselves. It is the responsibility of teachers to set the bar high and be the means for students to not only reach the bar but to climb over it and excel. As a teacher of students with exceptionalities, who are often not only ESE, but economically disadvantaged, from a minority group, and the product of unstable home environments, I am often faced with the challenge of rebuilding students into what they can become on their way to adulthood. Reaching them makes me a better mother, a better friend, a better educator, a better person. Teaching my students and helping others teach similar students can make the future a better place. My message is quite simply, every student can learn, every student is worth it.”
High School Teacher of the Year – sponsored by Keiser University, Port Saint Lucie
Jamie Herd-Tesson, Martin County High School, 10th – 12th Grade Mathematics Teacher
(MCSD Teacher of the Year)
The Education Foundation of Martin County’s Teacher of the Year Awards Celebration
is presented by Infiniti Stuart and Audi Stuart.
This year’s event is also made possible with the support of the following sponsors:
Publix Super Markets Charities
Keiser University, Port Saint Lucie
The Education Foundation of Martin County (EFMC) is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3), community investment organization comprised of business leaders, community volunteers, and school officials with the common goal of enriching and enhancing educational opportunities for all students and teachers, in the Martin County School District, through effective fundraising efforts, positive collaborative partnerships, innovative programming, and efficient allocation of resources. For more information, visit www.educationfoundationmc.org.
