OUTstanding Teacher Awardees

 In 2014, Five Rivers MetroParks created the OUTstanding Teacher Award through the Cox Arboretum Foundation with generous grant from the Virginia W. Kettering Foundation.  The award recognizes three exceptional educators from the Greater Dayton Area who have gone above and beyond in bringing engaging environmental experiences that inspire students to shape attitudes and actions for nature.  Teachers are nominated in either the Rising Star category (less than 10 years experience), the Leader category (10-20 years experience), or the Lifetime Achievement category (20 or more years experience).  Nominations come from students, parents, fellow teachers, administrators, and friends.  These teachers are catalysts in facilitating a vibrant school community, encouraging teachers and parents to get kids active in nature.  It’s important that Cox Arboretum and Five Rivers MetroParks supports and recognizes these educators, because they support the MetroParks' mission to provide outdoor experiences that inspire a personal connection with nature.  In order to support these teachers in their quest to get kids outside and weave nature into the curriculum, each teacher receives a membership to the Cox Arboretum Foundation and the Environmental Education Council of Ohio (EECO) for 1 year, registration fees for the “101 Alternatives to the Chalkboard” teacher conference in October to Camp Kern, a plant kit, transportation for their class to take a field trip to Cox Arboretum, and outdoor education school supplies. 

If you hear audible whoops of celebration coming from Hills & Dales MetroPark, it is because the park team there is elated that Jessie is being recognized for her work to connect her kindergarteners to nature and to their neighborhood MetroPark. Jesse walks her students and their families to Hills & Dales throughout the school year to investigate seasonal changes and engage in nature play. Families have so much fun they return to enjoy the park on their own. Jessie is a force for the nature play movement. Her class is outside multiple times a day, enjoying various activities, including practicing math and phonics skills, storytelling, gardening, observing wildlife, recess, and snack time. Southdale Elementary’s innovative courtyard classroom features food and butterfly gardens that Jessie and fellow members of the school’s gardening committee help maintain, so they can be used by the whole school for learning. Jessie also works closely with the Habitat Environmental Center to expand opportunities for her students to explore natural spaces and learn about nature topics. Serving as a kindergarten teacher since 2007, Jessie has come to strongly believe in the power of nature to heal and uplift people of all ages. She says, “I feel called to help both teachers and children advocate for their right to connect regularly with the natural world and foster a sincere appreciation for our natural world.”