Chesterfield County teachers won seven of this year’s R.E.B. Awards for Teaching Excellence. The annual awards program, which is a partnership between the Community Foundation and the R.E.B. Foundation, recognizes excellence in public education by awarding cash grants to outstanding public school teachers in central Virginia.
This year, 102 teachers were nominated by students, parents and colleagues and 34 of those nominees became finalists. From the finalists, 16 winners were chosen to receive grants of $8,100 to $12,000 that will provide learning opportunities during the adventure of a lifetime. The 18 finalists not chosen for a professional development grant will receive $750 grants in recognition of their achievements in the classroom.
At a Nov. 9 awards ceremony, seven of the R.E.B. Awards for Teaching Excellence went to educators within Chesterfield County Public Schools. Here are Chesterfield’s winners in the Village News readership area and descriptions of how they will use their grants:
Robert Benway, specialty center coordinator for the Governor’s Academy for Engineering Studies at Bird High: $9,000 to visit the top maker spaces in the San Francisco Bay area, attend the
Maker Faire in Singapore and visit Cambodia to determine how students can build prosthetics to help survivors of land mine explosions
Lauren Lineweaver, Falling Creek Elementary’s reading specialist: $8,100 to travel within the United States to photograph cultural and historical landmarks that celebrate the country’s rich history.
Six of the 18 R.E.B. finalists who will receive $750 grants are from Chesterfield County Public Schools:
- Amanda Crisafi of Evergreen Elementary
- Ellen Faris of Evergreen Elementary
- Kimberly Gianopoulos of Bird High
- Nancy Riddlemoser of Manchester Middle
- Jessica White of Bird High
- James Wright of Gordon Elementary
