Three Goddard School Teachers are Honored for Their Commitment to Their Classrooms and Communities FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / PRURGENT
KING OF PRUSSIA, PA (May 18, 2020) – Goddard Systems, Inc. (GSI), franchisor of The Goddard School®, the nation’s premier preschool system focusing on learning through play for children six weeks to six years old, presents the 2020 recipients of the Teacher of the Year award to three outstanding educators.
Since 2006, the Teacher of the Year Awards have honored Goddard School educators who have used their passion for education to create unique lesson plans for their students. Award recipients are presented with a commemorative plaque to celebrate their dedication to fostering a love of learning in their students.
This year’s selected teachers devised unique initiatives to engage their classrooms. These initiatives included making and donating fleece blankets to a local hospital, developing class collaboration with a local animal shelter and organizing a drive for donating books and school supplies to an elementary school in Mexico.
“At The Goddard School, we are driven every day to create warm, nurturing environments for all students. Each year, it is an honor to recognize those educators within our system who go above and beyond and also immerse their students in truly amazing learning experiences,” says Dr. Craig Bach, Vice President of Education at GSI. “We are delighted to celebrate this year’s Teacher of the Year winners, who have given their students new perspectives on acts of kindness in their communities and abroad.”
The Goddard School is proud to honor the following teachers:
Jesse Schenck - Schaumburg, IL
Jesse is being recognized for her commitment to the engagement and attention she provides to her students and their families every day. She strives to teach her students about generosity by leading the School’s Scholastic Book Fair each year. Upon discovering one family was donating books to an elementary school in Mexico, Jesse donated her Scholastic points and collected more books for this cause. This, in turn, became a schoolwide initiative, and the community donated more than 300 books and provided school supplies. Jesse has also created fun, unique classroom projects to engage her students, such as a Star Wars-themed STEAM night with activities, including folding Yoda origami, helping R2-D2 find his numbers and building a replica Chewbacca.
Megan Forstner - Virginia Beach, VA
For the past 14 years, Megan has demonstrated her passion for her students and their families by providing a compassionate, nurturing environment. She has become a mentor for new teachers and a leading example of what it means to be a Goddard School educator. She has made her mark in her community by teaching her students the importance of giving back. Megan and her students participated in the Shamrock Marathon with the money raised going to Operation Smile. For the past three years, she has also implemented a project in her classroom about the value of earning and saving, in which materials are purchased to make fleece blankets that are then donated to the local hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.
Samantha Theoret - Monroe, CT
Since joining The Goddard School in 2016, Samantha has had a significant effect both in her community and in the classroom. For teaching her students about giving back to the community, she developed collaboration between her class and the Furry Friends Foster and Rescue animal shelter. She also led an initiative to designate her school as a collection center for a can and bottle drive. Through these lesson units, her students learned about caring for animals, the act of giving, the environment and civic spirit. Samantha also created a program called Caught Being Kind. This program was created to acknowledge the kind acts of her students and to teach about the importance of kindness.
About The Goddard School®
Learning for fun. Learning for life.®
Children learn best through experience. The Goddard School uses current, academically endorsed methods to ensure that children have fun while learning the skills they need for long-term success in school and in life.
Their distinctive structure positions Goddard Schools to support the needs of families and helps ensure that children are known and appreciated for their distinctive talents and personalities. The Goddard School’s F.L.EX.® Learning Program (Fun Learning Experience) helps children explore and discover their interests in a safe, nurturing environment, and The Goddard School’s Educational Advisory Board, a team of acknowledged experts in various fields of early childhood education, guides the course of study.
Additionally, this program has earned AdvancED Corporation Accreditation and Middle States Corporate Accreditation for creating policies, programs and standards that help franchised locations meet high standards in early learning, child development and childcare. The Goddard School serves more than 70,000 students from six weeks to six years old in more than 525 Goddard Schools in 38 states. To learn more about The Goddard School, please visit goddardschool.com. | 
