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Justine Daniel of Githens Middle Wins 2017 Teacher of the Year
Congratulations to Mrs. Justine Daniel, language arts teacher at Githens Middle School, for winning the DPS 2017 Teacher of the Year!
Mrs. Daniel was one of six finalists honored during a celebration at the Washington Duke Hotel last night, along with teachers of the year from all of our DPS schools. The room was filled with teachers, principals, administrators and other educators for an evening of stories, laughter, good fellowship and applause.
Mrs. Daniel spent her entire 10-year teaching career at Githens, where she started the school's first literary magazine and creative writing club. Her classroom philosophy is "OWN IT!" guided by four student goals: be willing to take academic risks in a respectful environment; become stronger writers by providing and receiving constructive criticism; learn skills from the experts around us and use these skills to educate the community through service learning projects; and become a literate community of independent readers who interpret and discuss texts from multiple genres.
Hear what Mrs. Daniel has to say about her teaching career and why her students think she deserves the Teacher of the Year honor in this short video. While you're on our YouTube page, check out the videos about our other finalists. You'll understand why it was a difficult decision choosing just one teacher of the year -- they are all incredible educators.
Congratulations to all of our Teachers of the Year!