ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Orange County Public Schools named its 2016 Orange County Teacher of the Year during a ceremony Thursday night.
The award was given to Maitland Middle School science teacher Lainie Clowers at the Rosen Centre Hotel, school officials said.
Recommended Videos
"I see the role of an educator as one of the most important in today's society," Clowers said. "It is we, the teachers, who inspire, uplift, encourage and impact the lives of students on a daily basis. When we reach out and touch the life of a young student, we are making a positive impact on our nation's future. We have a great responsibility and must show up each and every day, and be the best teacher that we can be."
School officials said Clowers will receive as the OCPS 2016 Teacher of the Year:
- New Buick Lacrosse lease for one year from Carl Black of Orlando
- Teacher of the Year stationery from Paul Pope with Jostens
- Carry-on luggage courtesy of AAA
- Walt Disney mousecar award - Disney's version of the Oscar
- Walt Disney annual park hopper pass for Clowers and her immediate family members
- Orlando Predators Arena Football Team via the team owners - Westgate Resort seven-night stay anywhere in the world from Interval International
- Dinner for two at Café Gauguin
- Two-night stay at the Rosen Centre Hotel
- Teacher of the Year ring presented by Doug Demaree of Herff Jones
- $500 check from CFE Federal Credit Union
- Three-day cruise to the Bahamas courtesy of Employee Travel Services
- Check for $5,000 from OCPS
Clowers' colleagues said she is a natural teacher and mentor. They said every lesson is planned to perfection and students transition from one activity to the next seamlessly.
Learning goals, scales and other aspects of effective teaching are naturally incorporated and that every year she has something new and real-world for her students to study, her colleagues said.
Last year, Clowers' students learned about SunRail and the impact of bringing it to the Orlando area. Engineers served as guest speakers in her classroom as they helped students consider environmental impacts and other issues related to building the SunRail system, school officials said.
"Mrs. Clowers' exuberance for teaching and her positive demeanor are evident with her big smile and the amount of time she puts into making learning exciting for her students. She does so with a true goal in mind," Maitland Middle School principal Stefanie Shames said. "Her room always has learning goals posted and her lessons are created so students can learn by doing. She makes real-world connections and has gone above and beyond to bring STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) into her classroom."