Summit Public Schools Teacher Honored for Excellence in Classroom

Zoe Marinkovich, a teacher at Summit Public Schools, has been recognized as a Summit Learning Spotlight teacher for her outstanding use of personalized learning practices to meet each student’s individual needs. The inaugural Summit Learning Spotlight honors and celebrates community-nominated teachers and schools across the country who are outstanding examples of educators going above and beyond to meet the needs of each and every one of their students.

Developed by Summit Public Schools in partnership with nationally acclaimed learning scientists, researchers, and academics, Summit Learning is a personalized approach to teaching and learning inspired by the vision to equip every student to lead a fulfilled life. Through the free Summit Learning Program, more than 330 schools have implemented and tailored Summit Learning for their communities, reaching more than 54,000 students across 40 states.

Summit Public Schools has exhibited a strong commitment to ensuring that all students are known deeply inside and outside of the classroom, become advocates for themselves, and have opportunities to ignite their passions and interests through their schoolwork, real-world learning experiences and ongoing, one-to-one mentoring. Teachers and leaders at Summit Public Schools, including Marinkovich, are dedicated to providing all students with an education that reflects the skills and habits necessary for success — an education that takes into account students’ individual needs, aspirations, and how they learn best.

Meeting the needs of every student required Summit Public Schools teachers to make fundamental changes in their classrooms in order to provide a high level of individual support to students, and Marinkovich has embraced this hard work. Marinkovich teaches students about themselves through the practice of serving others — she insists that they respect each other and each other’s ideas. In response to student feedback, she created a course called “Adulting 101” to address topics such as job interviews and balancing work and family life.

“Zoe deeply cares about student voices, both from a standpoint of what a student is passionate about or experienced, and from the perspective of how they want to engage,” says Summit Expeditions Executive Director Lucretia Witte. “She uses goal-setting and coaching, both inside and outside of the classroom, to ensure each student will meet their goals.”

Nominations for the Summit Learning Spotlight were accepted in fall 2017. Nominators provided insight and evidence into great educational practices from around Summit Learning community. As a Summit Learning Spotlight teacher, Marinkovich and Summit Public Schools will have the opportunity to share educational best practices, lessons learned, and keys to success with educators across the country.

“Zoe is more than a teacher — she is a mentor and coach to her students, a leader of her colleagues, and a role model for a national community of educators,” said Diane Tavenner, CEO and co-founder of Summit Public Schools. “We are honored to partner with, learn from and celebrate Zoe and her dedication to meeting the needs of each and every student.”

To learn more about Summit Public Schools, please visit http://www.summitps.org/.