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The Community Foundation honored 12 Henrico County Public Schools teachers with grants that will allow them to pursue cutting-edge study in their fields.
Three HCPS educators won the REB Award for Teaching Excellence and received grants ranging from $11,400 to $15,000, and nine additional teachers were finalists.
Across the Richmond area, 91 teachers were nominated for the awards, and 17 won. There were also 18 finalists — half of those from HCPS.
The foundation's awards are given to educators who have distinguished themselves through their inspiring performance in the classroom.
“Our teachers are second to none, and these honorees are stellar examples of the amazing work our educators do in the classroom each day," said HCPS Superintendent Amy Cashwell in a prepared statement.
Cashwell visited the three REB Award winners in their classrooms on Wednesday.
Megan Bouton, a kindergarten teacher at Echo Lake Elementary School, won $11,400 to study the early experiences of children in Finland and visit kindergartens and outdoor “forest schools” in Denmark, Sweden and the Pacific Northwest.
Robert Peck, a government teacher and center director at Douglas S. Freeman High School, won $15,000 to explore concepts of citizenship, constitutionalism and American identity by traveling to the Caribbean, Micronesia and Native American tribal lands.
Derek Podolny, a math teacher at Douglas S. Freeman High School, won $14,300 to explore the mathematical and historical foundations of various navigational techniques and apply them in real world settings.
The nine teachers who were recognized as finalists in this year's competition and received $1,000 each were JaNee Boston, Varina High School; Meagan Dalton, Deep Run High School; Amy Earle, Deep Run High School; Kenya Gray, Henrico High School; Tedra Hall, Quioccasin Middle School; Diana Hundley, Echo Lake Elementary School; Wiley Hunnicutt, Douglas S. Freeman High School; Nicholas Ingraham, Henrico High School; and Anne-Marie Slinkman, J.R. Tucker High School.
