• ST. LOUIS, MO, May 22, 2012–Today, Ms. Julie Beede, a Music Specialist at Dewey International Studies Elementary School, was named the St. Louis Public School District’s 2012 Teacher of the Year.   SLPS Superintendent Dr. Kelvin R. Adams made the announcement at the school’s morning assembly, which was attended by all Dewey students and staff members.

     

    “It was a wonderful surprise to receive this award in front of my Dewey family!  Teachers work very hard on behalf of their students and their schools.  I am grateful for the recognition.  As SLPS Teacher of the Year, I am pleased that music, and those who teach it, are valued by the St. Louis Public Schools,” said Beede.

     

    An educator with the District since 2000, Ms. Beede believes that music and the arts embody the purest form of human expression and enhances understanding and achievement in the other academic areas.  After joining Dewey International Studies Elementary School in 2010, she promptly began to restore the school’s stage so that her students could have a venue to display their developing music skills as well as having the opportunity to experience live performances by accomplished musicians. In addition, Ms. Beede renovated the school’s Keyboard Lab, and taught her students to play recorders, keyboards and Orff instruments, showcasing her students’ knowledge and talents at school concerts and mini-musicals.  

     

    Dr. Zitta, the principal at Dewey who nominated Beede for the 2012 SLPS Elementary Music Teacher of the Year award, which in turn made her an eligible candidate for the District’s Teacher of the Year Award, stated, “She has created an attractive and print-rich learning environment. Communication Arts are supported in her music class with journal and homework assignments. MAP-formatted question strips are visible along with student work and the beginnings of a word wall, and she used technology on a supportive and transformative level in her classes on a daily basis.”

     

    As the St. Louis Public School District’s 2012 Teacher of the Year, Ms. Beede is now eligible to compete for the Missouri Teacher of the Year honor, which will be chosen at a later date.  For more information please contact the Office of Public Information (314) 345-2367.

     

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