Stamford Public Schools Name Teacher of the Year

A third-grade teacher at Davenport Ridge Elementary School has been named the 2015-16 Stamford Teacher of the Year.

Stamford Public Schools (SPS) announced on Monday that Jessica Chaapel is the district’s teacher of the year. Chaapel will be presented with the award on Thursday, May 7, at SPS 14th annual Teacher of the Year and Spotlight on Teacher Award Program.

The program, which will be held at UConn Stamford, coincides with Teacher Appreciation Week. Stamford Public Schools will celebrate its outstanding teachers with a reception and awards celebration from 5 to 7 p.m.

“To be recognized by one’s peers, those with whom you work every day, is the highest honor a teacher can receive,” Stamford Superintendent Winifred Hamilton said in a statement. “Congratulations to Jessica, who exemplifies the characteristics of outstanding teaching here in Stamford and serves as a role model for others.”

Chaapel is completing her third year teaching in Stamford. Though, according to the essay she submitted as part of the awards process, Chaapel has demonstrated her love of teaching since she was six-years-old. She has a Bachelor’s degree with a quad-certification in Elementary Education, Spanish Education and Special Education, and a Master’s degree in Bilingual Education.

“I am very excited and thrilled that Ms. Jessica Chaapel has been named Stamford Teacher of the Year,” Davenport Ridge Elementary School Principal Michael Pisseri said in a statement. “She is professional, creative, hard-working and dedicated to her students and to the greater good of our school. I couldn’t be more proud to count her among our many exceptional Davenport staff members. ”

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Contributed photo: Jessica Chaapel.