The September Teacher of the Month was awarded to Cathy Young, who started her new role as the Instructional Technology Coach at Houston High School this week. Ms. Young is an outstanding educator with a long career of placing her students' academic, social and emotional needs at the heart of all that she does. She previously served as a middle school teacher at Riverdale School.
Many nominators for this award commended her for the fact that she works tirelessly on her lesson plans and student activities until they are perfect, and she sets high expectations that her students can achieve. During her 17 years at Riverdale, her ELA, math, science and social studies classes have challenged students to the limit and fully prepared them for the rigorous high school years ahead. In addition, according to one nominator, "her classroom environment provides a place where students can feel safe."
Ms. Young goes out of her way to ensure that her lessons are fun and engaging while also helping her students mature and thrive. One nominating parent writes "I am very fortunate that my son was able to have Ms. Young for STEM last school year. She really encourages her students to think outside the box and work with groups. I feel like my son learned so much but was also seen and taken care of by Ms. Young. To know that your teacher cares about you makes such a difference in the lives of these young students."