Congratulations to the following 2011 Teachers of the Year:

Alexandria: Lee Brosius, Penn Elementary School 2nd and 3rd grade
Ms. Lee Brosius has been my daughter's teacher for 2nd and 3rd grade as our elementary school teachers loop with their students for two grades. This has been a blessing for our family and especially for my daughter as Ms. Brosius is an amazing teacher, mother, and individual. Ms. Brosius encourages her students to give their all academically and spends much of her time teaching about character building and being a extraordinary person.

Ashburn: Lorie Terry, Hillside Elementary 4th grade
Mrs. Terry goes above and beyond in her fourth grade classroom - revising her lesson plans significantly every year to add even more awesome opportunities for her class. She truly loves to teach. Her children leave her class at the end of the year with a true, real appreciation for Virginia history. This year, Mrs. Terry introduced an "archeaological dig" project into the class, where the kids utilized re-created artifacts from Jamestown, and other tools from the Archaerium, to imagine what it would be like to discover things buried from the 17th century.

Baltimore: Suzanne Lindsay, Dulaney High School English 9 – 12 grades
Suzanne is an amazing dedicated teacher and has the respect of all of her students. She treats each student with kindness and respect, and routinely goes the extra mile to make sure her students develop a love for learning.

Columbia: Michael Wall, Rockburn Elementary Physical Education
Mr. Wall has been a teacher at Rockburn Elementary for many years. He makes physical education not only challenging but fun for the children and they look forward to his class. Mr. Wall is always positive and energetic, taking on activities such as the Golden Shoe Race and annual field day. These events are the highlights of the year and the students eagerly await there arrival. Mr. Wall has also donated his own personal time and services to further the PTA's ability to help the students as well.

Fairfax: Gela Russell, Bull Run Middle School 6th grade language arts
Gela is passionate about her students, many of whom speak English as a second language, and she devotes an incredible amount of time ensuring that they are successful. She plans fun activities to motivate her students, and incorporates technology into her lessons with ease. Additionally, Mrs. Russell serves as our SCA/Builders Club sponsor, where she heads up the activities of the student government and other service organizations in our school. She even finds time to write grants to obtain money for additional projects.

Metro NY/NJ Delivery: Heidi Nigg, Midland Elementary School 2nd grade, Rye, NY
Heidi has been a Kindergarden teacher in Rye for the past 18 yrs. She always has a smile on her face, kind words for her students and endless reserves of supports for her students parents. Heidi always has her students best interests in absolute focus. She is tireless, kind and massively dedicated.