B.F. Day Elementary School art teacher, Julie Trout, was recently named Regional Teacher of the Year by the Puget Sound Educational Service District (PSESD). According to the PSESD website, “the Teacher of the Year program is part of a nationwide initiative to honor and recognize exceptional educators. Each ESD selects one regional teacher of the year from the school districts within their region.” This distinction will make Trout eligible for the 2012 Washington State Teacher of the Year, which is awarded in the fall.
Trout has been a visual arts specialist at B.F. Day since 2008, but left at the end of the school year to take a teaching position at Gatewood Elementary. PSESD describes her teaching as “a thriving visual arts program that includes instruction in all mediums with an emphasis on world cultures and integration of core subjects with visual arts.” PSESD also shared the following from one of Trout’s former principals:
In her Teacher of the Year application a retired principal noted, ‘Julie’s instructional practice is creative and grounded in best practice. She gets results! Yet her greatest power as an educator is her ability to shine light and love in the classroom. She instills confidence in children and supports them in taking safe risks in their thinking and learning. Julie consistently holds students accountable to wise, respectful behavior by modeling it herself and fearlessly coaching them to be their best.’