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Day named region’s top secondary teacher


STANDING OUT – Northwest High School English teacher Lisa Day was named the Education Service Center Region 11’s Secondary Teacher of the Year. Submitted Photo

Northwest High School English teacher Lisa Day is in elite company.

Monday, Day was named the Education Service Center Region 11’s 2020 Secondary Teacher of the Year.

Day and Fawn Rohrer, Northwest ISD’s Elementary Teacher of the Year, attended a special watch party for Region 11’s virtual awards ceremony with family, friends, Superintendent Ryder Warren and their campus principals.

Day has been with the district since 2005. For the past six years, she has served as the team lead for freshman English teachers at Northwest. She also serves as the campus’ Gifted and Talented coordinator and the National Honor Society faculty council member for Northwest High School.

As a candidate for the regional award, she was required to submit her resume of educational history and professional development, along with five lengthy essays detailing her qualifications and experiences.

“She is just such an excellent writer, and the way she conveyed her message was so impressive,” said Richard Valenta, an ESC Region 11 judge. “She carried the theme of change and collaboration throughout all of her essays, and it truly gave us a sense of knowing her and respecting her.”

In her essay, Day wrote about the importance of community and collaboration.

“I’ve dedicated myself to try new things … As I keep evolving, my students are learning to embrace failure,” Day wrote. “When they fail, they look to their community for help … Life is messy and collaborative, but you have to shed your fears and open yourself up. Therefore, I challenge you to open your door. Look for ways to bring others in and create your own community. In order to do this, you have to put yourself out there and expose your areas of need. I’ve found my people, my tribe. Now it is up to you to step out and find yours.”

Northwest Principal Carrie Jackson said about Day, “Lisa is such a warm-hearted lady with a sweet and kind spirit. She is so welcoming to everyone and will greet you with a warm hug and a warm smile. She works hard to create experiences for her students, and she goes well beyond the lesson.”

Warren also provided praises for Day.

“She’s a teacher. That’s the highest compliment I can pay Lisa Day,” Warren said. “She absolutely loves her children. She takes great steps to make them feel loved, to make them feel important, and to make them feel they have worth. And that’s what a teacher does. She shows up at Northwest High School and does that every single day. People and kids gravitate to her because of her personality and because of her love for what she does. We could not be more proud of her and to have her as a teammate for Northwest ISD.”

The Teacher of the Year Program, sponsored by the Texas Association of School Administrators, allows districts to submit one elementary and one secondary candidate to compete at the regional and state levels. Seventy-one teachers, representing 37 school districts in Region 11, participated in this year’s competition.

Day will advance to the state level where she will compete for the Texas Teacher of the Year award.

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