Jean Harrison, Deer Park Teacher Of The Year

It was early one morning last November when Deer Park teacher Jean Harrison was called to the assistant principal's office. Had she done something wrong, she wondered?  Quite the opposite.

Once there she received the news, she'd been voted Deer Park's Teacher of the Year. 

"I was absolutely shocked because everyone who teaches here does amazing things and to have peers who think you are the best is an awesome feeling," said Harrison, who has been an educator for 34 years.   

A dedicated professional who sets the bar very high for her students and herself, is how Assistant Principal Amber Rutherford referred to Mrs. Harrison.

"Every day she sends e-mails to parents of her students that includes photographs of what their children have done in her classroom that day," Rutherford said.

 Every inch of wall space in Harrison's kindergarten classroom is filled with phrases that inspire students to do their best and she is proud that the majority of her students are working at higher grade levels.  Her class name is "Harrison's Hoppers" because of her personal love for frogs.   

There is a "Harrison's Hoppers Behavior Calendar" that she uses to acknowledge the good behavior of her students.  Good behavior builds links on a chain and this earns students an enrichment activity. 

"Being a teacher helps me be a better person.  It's simply an awe-inspiring feeling to be able to be a part of children's lives and help them develop," Harrison said.

Harrison is also the lead kindergarten teacher at Deer Park.  She has hosted teacher trainings, written grant proposals and was part of an organized team of teachers who gave up their planning periods offer free tutoring to students who were struggling in various subjects.  

Harrison believes that kindergarten is a crucial age for students.

"I think it is vital to instill in children a sense of love of themselves at an early age because after 5 that window closes rapidly," she said. 

Alexa Koulouris, a behavioral therapist at the school, works very closely with Mrs. Harrison.

"She offers students a structured environment where it is hard for the kids not to thrive," Koulouris said. "She also keeps parents very involved in the progress of their children and that's what makes her such an excellent teacher."