{"id":38643,"date":"2018-06-15T10:12:06","date_gmt":"2018-06-15T14:12:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=38643"},"modified":"2018-06-15T10:20:22","modified_gmt":"2018-06-15T14:20:22","slug":"eight-alumni-educators-including-rockingham-countys-teacher-of-the-year-recognized-for-professional-excellence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/eight-alumni-educators-including-rockingham-countys-teacher-of-the-year-recognized-for-professional-excellence\/","title":{"rendered":"Eight alumni educators, including Rockingham County\u2019s Teacher of the Year, recognized for professional excellence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christine \u201cChris\u201d Grim<\/strong> ’90<\/strong>, a first-grade teacher at Fulks Run Elementary School for the last 28 years, has been named Lucy F. Simms Educator of the Year by the Rockingham County Public Schools.<\/p>\n

She will represent the district in the Virginia Department of Education\u2019s state and regional Teacher of the Year award.<\/p>\n

Grim was selected from among 24 candidates representing each of the elementary, middle and high schools in the district.<\/p>\n

Five of these honorees \u2013 Heather Crawford ’97, Sheryl McDowell MA ’09,\u00a0 Sheri Loomis ’01,\u00a0 Stephanie Slater MA ’07<\/strong> and Heidi Swartz ’98<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 are also graduates of Eastern Mennonite University.<\/p>\n

Additionally, two of the six honorees in Harrisonburg City Public Schools \u2013 Abby Stover ’11<\/strong> and Emily Imgram<\/strong> \u2013 \u00a0are\u00a0 an EMU graduate and current graduate student, respectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cCongratulations to all of our local Teachers of the Year, including those alumni who came through our undergraduate and graduate programs at EMU,\u201d said Cathy Smeltzer Erb, department chair and professor of education at EMU. \u201cWe honor their hard work and celebrate this well-earned recognition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lucy F. Simms Educator of the Year<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Grim was honored at a May 17 ceremony at the Lucy Francis Simms Community Center in Harrisonburg. Simms, born a slave in 1855, began teaching at age 17 and taught for 56 years in Rockingham County and Harrisonburg City.\u00a0The award, given annually by the district and the non-profit affiliate Rockingham County Educational Foundation, Inc., acknowledges both her legacy and excellence in education. Grim also received a check for $1,000 from donors BotkinRose Law Firm and Douglas Guynn.<\/p>\n

Grim says she loves to see her students realize both large and small successes. \u201cThe look on their faces when they accomplish something is priceless! I love watching those \u2018lightbulb\u2019 moments when things start to click.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grim says she\u2019s thankful for the support and mentorship of many people. \u201cI couldn\u2019t do what I do without the support of my co-workers and the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked to remember a special teacher, she remembers her own fifth-grade teacher Louise Basile, who developed a relationship with Grim that extended beyond just that one year she spent in her classroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t just about the academics,\u201d Grim said. \u201cI knew that she cared about me and as a 5th grade student that meant a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>More from the RCPS and HCPS Teachers of the Year<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Here\u2019s the other area Teachers of the Year and a bit of information about each of them (it\u2019s a busy time for schoolteachers, so some were not able to respond.)<\/p>\n

If you hear of an EMU alumnus who has been honored in your area for teaching excellence, let us know in the comments box below.<\/em><\/p>\n

Heather Crawford ’97\"\"<\/a><\/strong>
\nFirst grade, River Bend Elementary School
\nRockingham County Public Schools<\/p>\n

A 20-year veteran, Heather says she loves when her students are \u201cso actively engaged in a lesson that that they don’t even realize they are learning,\u201d and when she sees students talking to each other about a lesson and collaborating with one another.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her colleagues are her inspiration: \u201cI have been very fortunate to work with many amazing teachers over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emily Imgram, working on a graduate certificate in restorative justice in education<\/a>
\n<\/strong>English Language Learners, Thomas Harrison Middle School
\nHarrisonburg City Schools<\/p>\n

Sheri Loomis ’01\"\"<\/a><\/strong>
\nSpecial Education, Elkton Elementary School
\nRockingham County Public Schools<\/p>\n

Sheri has been teaching for 17 years. She says a great day in her classroom is when she makes an impact on \u201ca child\u2019s ability to learn, grow, reflect, and achieve, all while building grit and resiliency and the abilities to overcome adversity.\u201d<\/p>\n

She appreciates \u201cworking with the terrific staff and administration at Elkton Elementary School, who each help to make teaching a joy.\u201d And she just happened to mention \u201cthe wonderful education professors at EMU.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheryl McDowell MA ’09\"\"<\/a><\/strong>
\nEnglish Learners, grades 9-12, Spotswood High School
\nRockingham County Public Schools<\/p>\n

Shery has been teaching for 32 years.<\/p>\n

Stephanie Slater MA ’07<\/strong>
\nMath, grades 9-12, Broadway High School
\nRockingham County Public Schools<\/p>\n

Stephanie has taught for 19 years, all at Broadway High. She currently teaches Algebra 1 and Analysis.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

She says that “light bulb” moments for students are always exciting, and I always enjoy days when students are so engaged in an activity and\/or helping teach each other that they don’t realize how much time has passed and how much they have learned.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important part of teaching is building relationships,\u201d she says, which makes every day important \u201cbecause I learn something new about my students<\/p>\n

Asked to share any outstanding mentors or models, Stephanie singled out two teachers who \u201cgreatly influenced my decision to be a teacher and how I teach:\u201d<\/p>\n

My high school math teacher, David Rudy, made math fun and exciting and inspired me to be a math teacher.\u00a0 Carolyn Cook, my cooperating teacher-mentor at Broadway, was an exceptional classroom teacher.\u00a0 I had the privilege of learning instructional delivery, classroom management and so much more from her.\u00a0 Both Mr. Rudy and Mrs. Cook exemplified passion and enthusiasm in the classroom.\u00a0 Above all, they cared about each individual student who entered their classrooms.\u00a0 They set a high standard that I strive for each day.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>Abby Stover ’11\"\"<\/a><\/strong>
\nFourth grade, Bluestone Elementary School<\/strong>
\nHarrisonburg City Schools<\/strong><\/p>\n

Abby has been teaching for seven years. At Bluestone, she teaches all subjects and says a great day in the classroom is \u201cwhen the students are kind to each other, work together, have fun, and of course learn new things!\u201d<\/p>\n

Abby sends special thanks to Deb Roth, who was both her fifth-grade teacher and her professor of education at Hesston College. \u201cShe instilled for me a love of children, teaching, and learning,\u201d she said. \u201cIf it hadn’t been for her, I may not have stayed in education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heidi Swartz ’98\"\"<\/a><\/strong>
\nReading and Language Arts, Elkton Middle School<\/strong>
\nRockingham County Public Schools<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Heidi has worked 19 years in the county, with the last 17 at Elkton with some \u201chilarious and creative\u201d middle-schoolers. \u201cI love when my students are actively engaged, communicating through writing and speaking, and having fun.<\/p>\n

One of her favorite teachers was her eighth- and ninth-grade choir teacher Nova Cunningham. \u201cShe was loud, daring, and not afraid to tackle any challenges in my small, rural high school. Her enthusiasm and ability to nudge me out of my comfort zone helped me to grow as a musician and as a person. Her confidence in me helped me have self-confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Christine \u201cChris\u201d Grim ’90, a first-grade teacher at Fulks Run Elementary School for the last 28 years, has been named Lucy F. Simms Educator of the Year by the Rockingham ... read more about Eight alumni educators, including Rockingham County\u2019s Teacher of the Year, recognized for professional excellence<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,17562,5594,6394],"tags":[6634],"feature":[17427,17426,17241],"class_list":["post-38643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-digest","category-education","category-ma-in-education","tag-cathy-smeltzer-erb","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-myemu-feature","feature-news-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nEight alumni educators, including Rockingham County\u2019s Teacher of the Year, recognized for professional excellence - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/eight-alumni-educators-including-rockingham-countys-teacher-of-the-year-recognized-for-professional-excellence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Eight alumni educators, including Rockingham County\u2019s Teacher of the Year, recognized for professional excellence - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Christine \u201cChris\u201d Grim ’90, a first-grade teacher at Fulks Run Elementary School for the last 28 years, has been named Lucy F. Simms Educator of the Year by the Rockingham\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/eight-alumni-educators-including-rockingham-countys-teacher-of-the-year-recognized-for-professional-excellence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EasternMennonite\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-06-15T14:12:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-06-15T14:20:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/06\/Christine-Grim-Feat-Image.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@EMU_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@EMU_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/eight-alumni-educators-including-rockingham-countys-teacher-of-the-year-recognized-for-professional-excellence\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/eight-alumni-educators-including-rockingham-countys-teacher-of-the-year-recognized-for-professional-excellence\/\",\"name\":\"Eight alumni educators, including Rockingham County\u2019s Teacher of the Year, recognized for professional excellence - EMU News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/eight-alumni-educators-including-rockingham-countys-teacher-of-the-year-recognized-for-professional-excellence\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/eight-alumni-educators-including-rockingham-countys-teacher-of-the-year-recognized-for-professional-excellence\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/06\/Christine-Grim-Feat-Image.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-06-15T14:12:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-06-15T14:20:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/eight-alumni-educators-including-rockingham-countys-teacher-of-the-year-recognized-for-professional-excellence\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/eight-alumni-educators-including-rockingham-countys-teacher-of-the-year-recognized-for-professional-excellence\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/eight-alumni-educators-including-rockingham-countys-teacher-of-the-year-recognized-for-professional-excellence\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/06\/Christine-Grim-Feat-Image.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/06\/Christine-Grim-Feat-Image.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":667},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/eight-alumni-educators-including-rockingham-countys-teacher-of-the-year-recognized-for-professional-excellence\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Eight alumni educators, including Rockingham County\u2019s Teacher of the Year, recognized for professional excellence\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/\",\"name\":\"EMU News\",\"description\":\"News from the Eastern Mennonite University community.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Eight alumni educators, including Rockingham County\u2019s Teacher of the Year, recognized for professional excellence - EMU News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/eight-alumni-educators-including-rockingham-countys-teacher-of-the-year-recognized-for-professional-excellence\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Eight alumni educators, including Rockingham County\u2019s Teacher of the Year, recognized for professional excellence - EMU News","og_description":"Christine \u201cChris\u201d Grim ’90, a first-grade teacher at Fulks Run Elementary School for the last 28 years, has been named Lucy F. Simms Educator of the Year by the Rockingham","og_url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/eight-alumni-educators-including-rockingham-countys-teacher-of-the-year-recognized-for-professional-excellence\/","og_site_name":"EMU News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EasternMennonite","article_published_time":"2018-06-15T14:12:06+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-06-15T14:20:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":667,"url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/06\/Christine-Grim-Feat-Image.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@EMU_News","twitter_site":"@EMU_News","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/eight-alumni-educators-including-rockingham-countys-teacher-of-the-year-recognized-for-professional-excellence\/","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/eight-alumni-educators-including-rockingham-countys-teacher-of-the-year-recognized-for-professional-excellence\/","name":"Eight alumni educators, including Rockingham County\u2019s Teacher of the Year, recognized for professional excellence - EMU News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/eight-alumni-educators-including-rockingham-countys-teacher-of-the-year-recognized-for-professional-excellence\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/eight-alumni-educators-including-rockingham-countys-teacher-of-the-year-recognized-for-professional-excellence\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/06\/Christine-Grim-Feat-Image.jpg","datePublished":"2018-06-15T14:12:06+00:00","dateModified":"2018-06-15T14:20:22+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/eight-alumni-educators-including-rockingham-countys-teacher-of-the-year-recognized-for-professional-excellence\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/eight-alumni-educators-including-rockingham-countys-teacher-of-the-year-recognized-for-professional-excellence\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/eight-alumni-educators-including-rockingham-countys-teacher-of-the-year-recognized-for-professional-excellence\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/06\/Christine-Grim-Feat-Image.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/06\/Christine-Grim-Feat-Image.jpg","width":1000,"height":667},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/eight-alumni-educators-including-rockingham-countys-teacher-of-the-year-recognized-for-professional-excellence\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Eight alumni educators, including Rockingham County\u2019s Teacher of the Year, recognized for professional excellence"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/","name":"EMU News","description":"News from the Eastern Mennonite University community.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245","name":"admin","sameAs":["http:\/\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38643"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38661,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38643\/revisions\/38661"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38643"},{"taxonomy":"feature","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/feature?post=38643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}