Ten Utah educators received top 2020 teaching honors UEA/dōTERRA Excellence in Teaching Awards to be presented at the KeyBank ‘Superstars in Education’ Banquet.
Nebo School District’s own Jesse Roberts, a social studies teacher at Spanish Fork High School, was selected as a top educator by the UEA/dōTERRA Excellence in Teaching Awards.
Roberts teaches Social Studies. Roberts’ top priority is providing opportunities for real student learning.
“He implements researched-based tools to collect data to help identify areas of student learning and move his practice forward,” said a colleague.
Roberts instructs students from a wide range of academic backgrounds. He makes a point to set academic goals with each student then supports them until they achieve those goals. Besides teaching, Roberts spends his summers working as a firefighter and is also a coach at the school. He uses his free time to take workshops to better his teaching.
When his school designed a program to help at-risk students graduate, Roberts was chosen to be an adult advocate because of his talent in connecting with students.
One student said of him, “Mr. Roberts has been helping me get good grades. He helps me with my disability to do better in all my classes. I am so grateful for his help.”
Fellow colleague, Melissa Hartley, submitted Jesse Roberts for the UEA/dōTERRA Excellence in Teaching Award, produced by PBS Utah.
Video profiles on each of the 10 winning teachers, produced by PBS-Utah, will be shown at the banquet awards ceremony. Award recipients were selected based on their impact on individual students or groups of students.
Each winner receives an award, a poster to display at their school and a check for $1,500, courtesy of award sponsor dōTERRA.
“This has been a particularly stressful time for our public schools, so it is a tremendous honor to recognize these outstanding teachers for the work they do,” said UEA President Heidi Matthews. “They are just a few examples of the remarkable educators serving students each day in public schools across Utah.”
The UEA has presented the Excellence in Teaching awards since 2000. Originally planned for May, the KeyBank Superstars in Education Banquet will be rescheduled later this year due to COVID-19 concerns.
KeyBank has sponsored the banquet since 2012.
“We are privileged to support the Utah Education Association as it honors our state’s educators,” said Terry Grant, President of KeyBank in Utah. “These exceptional teachers comprise a vital part of our communities by ensuring our children receive quality educations. Quality education helps our communities thrive and thriving communities benefit all of us.”
For the past four years, PBS Utah has partnered with the UEA to produce video profiles of the Excellence in Teaching Award winners.
“The videos are a moving tribute to educators across Utah who are committed to ensuring Utah’s children receive a quality education. We are honored to be a part of these awards,” said PBS Utah Education Program Manager Elise Brimhall. (Serve Daily submission.)
