INK! names finalists for St. Johns County, FL 2023-2024 Teacher of the Year

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - Dec. 21, 2023 - PRLog -- Five public school teachers selected as finalists for the St. Johns County Teacher of the Year honor were announced by Investing in Kids (INK!) for  the annual Teacher of the Year selection to acknowledge excellence in teaching, and the importance and impact of the profession in the community.

An INK! selection committee narrowed the search to five finalists.

Kristen Anderson, a first-grade teacher at Valley Ridge Academy in Nocatee, has more than 11 years of teaching experience in St. Johns County, and previously in Marion County, Fla., Michigan, and New Jersey.

Samantha Gayso is an eighth-grade teacher in English Language Arts (ELA) at Alice B. Landrum Middle School in Ponte Vedra. She has been teaching in St. Johns County District schools and previously in Pennsylvania for 13 years.

Tina Hemby is an eighth-grade pre-algebra teacher at Mill Creek Academy with 29 years of experience as an educator in mathematics, elementary education, and general science in St. Johns County District Schools, and previously in South Carolina.

Robyn Rice is currently teaching Exceptional Student Education (ESE) at John A. Crookshank Elementary School in St. Augustine. For more than 22 years, she has been an educator for St. Johns County District Schools and previously in Georgia while specializing in social emotional learning support for students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.

Duane Spears has taught tenth and eleventh grade students at Allen D. Nease High School in Ponte Vedra, Fla., for more than seven years as an instructor in Naval Science studies and Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC).

The countywide Teacher of the Year program builds community awareness for the high level of instructional skills, professional excellence, and student interaction among educators and beyond school walls. The announcement of the educator selected as the St. Johns County District Teacher of the Year will be made on February 1, 2024, at the World Golf Village Renaissance St. Augustine Resort. The St. Johns County District Teacher of the Year becomes a candidate for Florida Teacher of the Year and receives various awards sponsored by local businesses and donors including the opportunity to receive a new car from Beaver Toyota St. Augustine.

For more information, contact Cathy Newman at catherine.newman@stjohns.k12.fl.us or 904-547-7120 or visit the website at www.ink-stjohns.org.