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L
ori Price, a first grade teacher at The Webster School,
was named 2019 St. Johns County Teacher of the
Year.
“Every child has the potential to do great things, and it is
our job as educators to help them reach that potential,”
Price wrote in her application. “Seeing the sense of pride
and accomplishment in students who have worked to
solve a challenging task reinforces my belief that all
students should be given the opportunity to undertake
these challenges.”
“Lori hosts a voluntary professional development
monthly meeting around the ideas of math for our
teachers,” Webster Principal Bethany Groves wrote
in a letter of recommendation. “They study on their
own, share ideas and discuss successes and struggles in
helping our student access concepts for which they have
little prior background knowledge. Most of the time,
teachers who may have come with a narrow mindset
leave believing that their students can do more than they
previously thought.”
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Price was a 2018 Florida finalist for the Presidential
Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching
and recently received a grant to bring math labs into
classrooms. She also presents each year at various
conferences dedicated to teaching mathematics, and she
helps organize the St. Johns County Math Conference for
district teachers.
Above all, Price is being honored for her kindness. One
parent wrote a letter of recommendation for Price,
explaining that her son was having behavior issues.
Instead of just reporting it, Price did all she could to open
communication between parent, teacher and student.
It was just one of the examples of how Price makes a
difference in the lives of her students, no matter what
challenges they are facing.
“Every child needs someone who thinks they are special,
and as a teacher I get the honor of being that person,”
Price said. “If we can change the future for one child, we
are influencing a family for generations. There is nothing
more inspiring to me than that.”