INK! names finalists for St. Johns County Teacher of the Year award

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - Jan. 12, 2021 - PRLog -- INK!'s (Investing in Kids) Teacher of the Year awards campaign is a special recognition program to honor educators in St. Johns County, Fla. public schools. The St. Johns County Education Foundation, which operates as INK! had a group of panelists who recently interviewed nominees with more than three years in the classroom. On Wednesday, January 6, INK! board members, staff and volunteers along with St. Johns County School District Superintendent Tim Forson and officials visited schools and recognized the following teachers as finalists for outstanding demonstration of instructional skills, student interaction, professional excellence, and importance in the lives of hundreds of students.

Finalist recipients include Allison Birbal, a sixth-grade science teacher at R.J. Murray Middle School, Andrea M. O'Brien, a pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade library media specialist at Durbin Creek Elementary School, and Alicia "Ali" Pressel, who has been teaching at Creekside High School in four levels within the St. Johns County Career Academies program, the Academy of Environmental Sciences, and Advanced Placement (AP) Environmental Science.

The countywide awards program builds community awareness of the region's best educators. The St. Johns County Teacher of the Year winner will be named during a virtual event on Thursday, January 27 with an opportunity to apply for the overall Florida Teacher of the Year program. The St. Johns County winner will receive various awards including a new car from Beaver Toyota St. Augustine.

An inaugural yearbook provided by All American Air Charitable Foundation (AAACF), a 501c3 organization in St. Augustine, Fla. and Leonard's Photography has been produced and includes Teacher of the Year and Rookie Teacher of the Year nominees, finalists, and winners along with testimonials from the community, sponsors, and more. The book will be in full color with photo collages and lighthearted moments all reflecting teacher and student life, and campaign highlights, to name a few. Comments collected with online messages about heartfelt thanks to area teachers will be featured in the yearbook with the submitter's name, family, and business with each entry.

INK! provides innovative programs and classroom resources to support academic success for all St. Johns County public schools. For the 2020-2021 school year, there are 56 public schools in the County, serving 40,734 students with more than 2,500 teachers. The nonprofit is located at 1 Christopher St. in St. Augustine. For more information about the awards and yearbooks, contact Donna Lueders at 904-547-7120 or email Donna.Lueders@stjohns.k12fl.us (mailto:Donna.Lueders@stjohns.k12.fl.us). Visit the website at www.ink-stjohns.org.