The School Buzz: D-11’s ‘Teacher of the Year’ nominee up for national recognition
Josh Helmuth
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Southern Colorado has countless remarkable teachers. But one is currently standing out amongst the rest, currently nominated for “America’s top teacher.”
Laurel Latimer teaches early childhood special education and pre-school at Martinez Elementary School in Colorado Springs. She is currently a finalist for America’s Top Teacher, an online competition operated by Colossal.org for DTCare, a national charity that will grant donations to The Planetary Society.
Latimer says she’s always had a passion for kids. She meets the kids where they are. She goes beyond academics. Most of all, she takes pride in teaching her “littles” how to be good little people.
“I love my preschoolers, how we get to build that foundation of learning, those strengths, so that as they get older, they’re going to grab a box and learn about social skills, how to talk to one another, and how to be kind,” said Latimer.
And parents are noticing her impact.
Becky Thompson is a parent. She said moving to the area recently was stressful. They were looking for community. She says Ms. Latimer has brought just that for her child. In fact, she’s enrolled her other two kids in the school just because of Latimer.
“Roman, he thrives. She definitely brings out the best in him – very artistic, outgoing. He’s been excelling,” said Thompson.
As of Thursday night, Ms. Latimer was in first place.
The next round of voting should be underway soon. If Latimer wins this region, she will then be up against all the other #1s around the country; voting ends May 21.
If Ms. Latimer wins, Martinez Elementary will get Bill Nye the Science Guy for an assembly. They would also get money for their school library. And, Ms. Latimer would get a cash prize; she says she would share it with her classroom for new materials. And oh yeah — she would be in Reader’s Digest.
Is there someone remarkable at your school? Hit us up! SchoolBuzz@KRDO.com.