• Media Release

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                   Contact: Meredith Pierce

    November 12, 2013                                                                               (314) 345-2367

     

    SLPS Names Communication Arts Teacher of the Year
     
     
    Comm Arts TOY
    From left: Aisha Grace, Jenna Silver, Dr. Gerald Early, Dr. Alice Roach

     

    ST. LOUIS, MO., November 12, 2013 – St. Louis Public Schools has presented the 2013 Dr. Gerald Early Middle/High School Communication Arts Teacher of the Year Award to a caring, dynamic educator who provides the highest quality of instruction and has helped her students reach new academic levels.

     

    To earn the Communication Arts Teacher of the Year Award, nominees must explain their teaching philosophy and approach to teaching; be recommended by an administrator and a professional colleague; and complete an interview process. 

     

    Ms. Jenna Silver, the communication arts department head at Gateway Math, Science and Technology Middle School, has been recognized as the St. Louis Public School District’s Communication Arts Teacher of the Year for her leadership, professionalism, and ability to inspire her students to achieve.

     

    “Ms. Silver is truly an excellent teacher,” said Ms. Aisha Grace, principal at Gateway Middle School. “Deeply committed to her craft, Ms. Silver makes sure that all of her students succeed at the highest level. Last year, her students demonstrated more growth on standardized tests than any other teacher in the building. She is incredibly professional and always maintains the highest standards of integrity.”  

     

    An educator at Gateway Middle since 2010, Ms. Silver was promoted to the communication arts department head position in 2012. In this role, she has been instrumental in improving the school’s curriculum and ensuring that it is aligned with the Common Core standards.

    The 2013 Communication Arts Teacher of the Year was honored with an awards reception and presented with a $1,000 award from the St. Louis Public Schools Foundation. In addition, she received a trophy, a plaque, and a $500 award for related education materials through the Parsons Blewett Memorial Fund. 

     

    The award is named after noted essayist and American culture critic Dr. Gerald Early, the Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters at Washington University in St. Louis.

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