Willow Creek Elementary

Ms. Shantel Patt, author and teacher with 14 years of classroom experience from Mesquite, Texas is awarded $1,000 for supporting teacher learning and development.  Ms. Patt’s book, Class Is In Session:  Teaching Through the Chaos encourages preservice teachers and educators to read by offering experience-based stories from the classroom.  Untold thousands of children across school districts in Texas will benefit from her book.  Patt wrote, “I wanted to send a huge thank you to the team at Judith’s Reading Room for selecting me for the award!  It means a lot to be supported by an organization that cares so deeply about literacy and the freedom to read.  This is such an amazing boost for both my work in the classroom and my own creative projects.”

Ms. Barbara Miller, kindergarten teacher at Willow Creek Elementary School in the Fleetwood Area School District of Pennsylvania is awarded $500 for her passion to create meaningful opportunities for students to engage with letters, sounds and text every day. The judges were struck by the wonderful things the kindergarten parents had to say about her impact on the lives of their children. “My goal is to empower every child with the foundational skills, confidence and love of learning that will support their academic journey for years to come,” said Miller.