Teacher Appreciation Nominations Blog B
Through our Teacher Appreciation nominations, we were able to see exactly how our teachers our impacting our kids and community. We want to recognize each nomination that has come in. With over 1700+ unique nominations, we are sharing the answers to our question posed: “Why does this teacher make you smile?”. The blogs are organized by last name of the teacher.
Teacher: Christina Babicz, Forbuss Elementary
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She is such a great teacher to my son. He loves being in her class. She’s not mean. And very understanding.
Teacher: Kenisha Bailey, Laura Dearing Elementary
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She is an amazing teacher!!! I love her personality and that she cares for people!!!
Teacher: Jeffery Ball, Southwest Career and Technical Academy
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Mr. Ball is an amazing teacher and very understanding he is one of the first teachers to care about his students and he creates a fun environment for his students, and he also is very inclusive with students he doesn’t judge and he tries to understand the students problems even if he had never experienced such things.
I nominated Mr. Ball because he makes me smile. This is through his humor, open mind, and respect for us as students. During his class I always call myself his worst nightmare, and he agrees. He is always able to go along with a joke. He gives us very little instructions and lets us go wild on our projects, which is so much fun. He is also always willing to take feedback and apply them, along with giving out feedback for other students who ask. His way of teaching isn’t for everyone, which is why some don’t like his class. However, by far his class makes me smile the most, and gives me the creative freedom not many teachers can offer. I don’t think there has been a single day where I’ve seen him in a bad mood.
Teacher: Robert Ballard, Burkholder Junior High School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? He was always telling stories and making us laugh. He was very helpful and would make sure we knew what we were learning. He did the craziest stuff and made school a fun learning experience. Thank you, Bobby
Mr. Ballard is my son’s favorite teacher. I was nervous about him starting middle school, but I was out at ease by how excited he would be coming home. He loves talking about how much he enjoys Mr. Ballard’s class. It is hard keeping students excited about Math, but I would love to be a fly on the wall in his class because it sounds so exciting. One thing that I’ve never seen before, Mr. Ballard sends video messages of words of encouragement. He critiques student work in such a positive way, it literally brought tears to my eyes. With so many students are going through especially with their mental health, it’s such a great feeling seeing a teacher firsthand making a difference
Teacher: Douglas Banasak, West Prepatory Institute
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? This teacher makes me smile every day! Even when it’s one of those bad days he always has a funny story to tell. Mr.Banasak is a great teacher and makes me smile even when I’m not trying to or don’t want to. When you have to talk to him about something, he is calm and not judgy at all. Thank you, Mr. Banasak!!
Mr. Banaszak makes me smile, because of the way he motivates us to learn about what he is teaching us.
He is funny always tries to make the classroom environment nice and cheerful.
Teacher: Chad Barrcus, West Prepatory Institute
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? This teacher makes me smile because his very funny and he taught me a lot when I was in the 7th Grade. The things that I didn’t understand in the 6th grade I understood when he taught me in the 7th grade.
Teacher: Ronald Barranco, Southwest Career and Technical Academy
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Always comes to school with a wonderful attitude and shows immense care for his students. A legitimate great guy that lights up a room and for sure deserves this award.
Mr. Barranco is honestly just very fun and understanding. If you have issues, he is always there to help. He is also very energetic and fun to be around in general. Mr Barranco also understands how to hold a conversation with his students and both gets and uses the same humor we use.
This teacher makes me smile because I don’t feel like I’m stuck in a classroom. The class is well managed and has a family-like feel. I know that he will help me with any questions I have and I never feel less than anyone for not understanding. His explanations are simple and understandable, and he will always make sure you understand it in the end.
This teacher makes me smile not only because he is funny, and caring and like a father, but he takes his Job seriously, he is very productive and he loves all of his students, I’m very happy to be one of his students as well. Each week I can’t wait to come to this class because it’s so fun to be around him.
From the get-go when you enter his class, you’re filled with a positive aesthetic that I just can’t seem to describe anywhere else with any other teacher. He greets you with a fist bump and a smile, before giving you the courage and inspiring words to get through the day’s lesson which offers you increments of knowledge you need that you came to his class for.
Teacher: Wayne Bennett, Cheyenne High School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? This teacher makes me smile because he is entertaining but overall, a genuine person who cares for his students.
Teacher: Michelle Benzon, Forbuss Elementary School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She embraced the class wholeheartedly when she took over in the middle of the school year. She invests so much to make sure that the kids learn and have fun 🙂
Teacher: Sinee Bernal, Hyde Park Middle School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Everything is well explained and easy to learn/understand, while still being fun.
Teacher: Jessi Blake, Canyon Springs
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She is such a nice teacher. She also is the best teacher to help kids when they need it.
Teacher: Mark Bly, Southwest Career and Technical Academy
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? He’s really funny and makes a bunch of jokes.
Teacher: Nica Boccio, Red Rock Elementary School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Ms. Boccio has gone above and beyond for her students. She has a lot of patience with her kids. My son has struggled with school due to being in EIP and she has been able to help him learn so much. She’s always showing compassion with the kids and you can see how much the kids lover and appreciate her. She is truly one of the best teachers I have ever met!
Teacher: Brian Boyars, West Career and Technical Academy
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Dr. Boyars is one of my favorite teachers that I have ever had at WCTA he is invested in students learning and has the interest of the student in mind. He loves to engage in conversation that goes beyond the scope of the course, and he makes asking questions the best.
Teacher: Regina Bradford, James B. McMillian Elementary
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Because she always teases me and she’s very sweet and kind and funny sometimes I wish I never have to leave her.
Teacher: Lisa Brinkley, Berkeley Bunker Elementary School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She is dedicated to her students. She provides many opportunities for her students to help fun while learning. She goes out of her way to help everyone, putting a smile on your face. As well as making you laugh to make your day better.
Teacher: Ashley Brisson, Valley High School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She’s always has great energy and doesn’t fail to make us have a good time while learning ❤️
Her attitude is the best:)
She’s always really positive, she gives off good/comforting vibes, she’s sweet and understanding of us students, plus she motivates us every day to get our work done.
She is very funny and she always has a great energy.
She helps me get caught up in my classes and she knows that im going through a hard time so she is very understanding of it.
She’s very supportive and constantly offers help she gives more time if needed she tries to see other point of views and shows she cares for her students she’s always understanding.
She is very helpful and kind. She also always does the best for us. She’s also very weird and goofy in a good way.
She helps even when she is going through it and just the best teacher to keep you motivated and positive.
She is always welcome extremely caring about me and my grades she will always help me.
Makes everyone feel alright every day.
She really is interested with her students and is cares about them.
She is always tryout new activities to engage us with the class and is very understand of our many struggles as adolescents and prepare us for adulthood.
She’s an amazing teacher and even though we stress her out sometimes she’s one of the nicest and understanding teachers here. She’s truly an amazing person/teacher.
She cares about me and I like her sense of humor.
She always tries her hardest to make sure everyone feels included. She always makes an effort to remind us that our mental health is very important.
She brings joy to the classroom and helps students understand the lesson plans. She helps students with any assignments and is a very supportive teacher towards students.
She’s very kind and always caring towards her students. She treats them equally and with respect. She can understand how students feel and be a good listener. She is relatable and a great comfort for students.
She always has a smile on her face & is always trying to help others.
Because she made us feel happy by putting music, tik tok of the day and finally always showing us great behavior.
She has such a positive attitude and is always making sure her students are doing okay.
She always has a positive vibe.
Very fun.
She’s an awesome teacher.
She is very weird and funny in a good way. She is also a very good listener whenever I have a problem and gives me good advice.
Her positive and polite tone when she says good mornings, it sounds so meaningful and makes me smile.
Good meaning teacher that works hard to make sure her students don’t fall behind. Hard working and kind.
Teacher: Katie Britt, Tarkanian Middle School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? This teacher makes me smile because she is so nice and really kind to each other’s. She is super understanding and is so un perfect. When she makes mistakes, it’s alright because everybody is human!
Mrs.Britt you make me smile because even with the hard time in school you always make the end of the day a great one. We all have fun playing games and doing projects and reading and if i had to choose the best ELA teacher i would for sure pick you. Thank you for all your support and help. Love: Kaniyah J Dobbs🥰.
If I had not had you as my teacher in Year 13, my life would be incredibly different. I’m not saying it would be bad – but you opened my eyes to what I could be, what I could do, in a way that I’ve never thought possible. You took a kid from Las Vegas and made him want to see the world and beyond.
I still remember one lesson where you told us about your hopes for your future when you were our age. I think you were meant to be talking about science, but it changed, and kind of became a life study. You told us about your regrets, and your successes, and for some reason, it all resonated with me, and I started to realize that anything really is possible.
You have changed my whole aspect on my learning, I wouldn’t be where I am today without you. Your encouragement and persistence in my junior years has taught me that I am who I am, and to get to the top, it’s all down to me. I am capable, but it will take hard work and lots of dedication. Thank you, Michael.
She has very inspiring energy and an amazing learning technique.
She tries her best to teach us while making it fun and interactive! She is very kind, makes sure we do our work, helps us if we get stuck, and tries to make things fun to keep us interested!
Teacher: Nicole Brooks Donolli, West Career and Technical Academy
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? This teacher makes me smile because she is the heart and the soul of our school. She runs the student council which lifts the spirits of everyone including students, support staff, teachers, and admin. For instance, she implemented staff room service this year where everyone got a personalized tote bag in which she fills once a month with goodies. She has even teamed up with our Pace/Post students to deliver them around the school. She never leaves anyone out and is always looking out for everyone else. She is also a member of the Sunshine Committee and is consistently looking for ways to make everyone else feel appreciated. Though I am the head of the committee, most of the ideas and implementation this year have been her doing because she is an absolute rock star! If anyone in this district deserves some recognition, it is her because she is always the one doing the recognizing for everyone else. I’m sure there are lots of other behind the scenes stuff she does as well so please consider her for your award!
Teacher: Jerilyn Brown, East Career Tech Academy
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Ms. Brown has the kind of love and respect for her students that just makes anybody smile. She’s a rare old-fashioned kind of teacher who’s not only there for her students but the parents as well any day and anytime. She brings out the best in all with her positivity and encouragement.
Ms. Jerilyn Brown consistently goes above and beyond for her students, on and off campus. She is available anytime when called upon. She exhibits patience and understanding for each student’s needs. She guides them in becoming independent, to be confident and believe in themselves. As a parent you can tell she truly cares. We appreciate how she communicate with us regarding our student’s progress.
Teacher: Michelle Brown, Hyde Park Middle School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Mrs. Brown believes in me, encourages me to achieve my full potential, and convinces me that I am capable of accomplishing everything I set my mind to. Mrs. Brown is fantastic at inspiring, encouraging, and challenging me to reach my full potential! She had faith in me before I had faith in myself. Even though she is going through many things in her personal life, she does her best to put a smile on her face every single day. Mrs. Brown manages to teach us and grade our tests and assignments, even through everything that is happening. In general, she is an awesome teacher and always has a positive attitude no matter what! I wish that every single student had a teacher like her!
This teacher makes me smile because she is always considerate of her students. Not only does Mrs. Brown always try her best to make projects fun, she also does a great job at teaching us the material. Whenever we need help, she is super easy to communicate with and gives straightforward answers. She always is the best teacher possible even when she is going through tough times, and she’s recently been through a lot of tough times. I enjoy her class thoroughly, and she is always very supportive. She is incredibly flexible with her assignments and will always fix due dates or different projects to accommodate student needs as much as possible. She’s kind, funny, and always tries her best to be the best teacher ever. She also tries to help us with work from other classes if we have an essay or a paper due. Another thing that I appreciate is that she always tells us that the grade is not the most important thing. Many people in my class (including me) stress this a lot, so it’s comforting knowing that she cares about something other than the final outcome, which is many times the only thing teachers care about. She always considers the work we put in. She helps us when an assignment is done wrong, or when we don’t understand something rather than scolding us. Mrs. Brown makes her class very welcoming for everyone so that we can feel like we are getting the best education that we possibly can. Mrs. Brown is very deserving of this award. She always puts in 200% effort into teaching her students the material. She has a whole different level of passion for teaching her students, and I seriously respect her effort that she puts in for us.
Teacher: Rosa Bryner, Sister Robert Joseph Bailey
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She makes me smile because she is nice.
Teacher: Denise Bucceri, Goolsby Elementary
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Ms. Bucceri really cares for and loves her students. She is always positive about their growth and shows genuine interest in their lives. Because of her thoughtful approach to teaching, our daughter’s attitude toward school has changed. She is more confident in her abilities to learn and wants likes to work through challenges that come her way. Ms. Bucceri has been a big part in helping her make that change.
Miss Bucceri has the most wonderful personality. She is very kind, patient, friendly and loves working with our kids.
She works very hard, in the evenings, on weekends, her days off, her annual leave. Miss Bucceri has excellent communication and leadership skills and deserves a recognition. Thank you so much!
Teacher: Sandy Bulk, Foothill High School
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She makes class enjoyable to be there in the morning. It makes my day 100% better when i get to go to her class and just talk about things we are learning. She makes things fun to learn and we are able to learn at our own pace.
I got switched to Mrs. Buk’s English class in the middle of August thinking it was going to be hard to adjust since I was new to the class. Mrs. Buk made my adjustments very easy and she’s a super cool and fun teacher to be around. Everyone in different classes can say that Mrs. Buk is the best English teacher probably in the whole school.
Teacher: Karyn Burns, Dennis Ortwein Elementary
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Mrs. Burns makes my son Bryson smile every day with her fun personality and awesome lessons. She motivates her students to work hard with both their academics and their social interactions. She is so generous and wants to provide all her students with opportunities to learn and grow. I appreciate her so much for creating an environment that makes my son want to go to school and to challenge himself.
Teacher: Misty Butler
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? You are very kind and you’re my favorite teacher. You’re fun.
Teacher: Sarah Barber
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She is amazing. She made me smile, my kids smile she is super AMAZING.
Teacher: LindsayBarnes
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? My son has been bullied and has low self-esteem mixed with a higher level of intelligence which makes it hard to fit in with his peers. We came to this school new to 3rd grade and Mrs. Barnes welcomed us with kindness and understanding concern and appreciation. With all my years of education being a CCSD student and graduating from UNLV and having a MA in education in addition to having two kids at CCSD, Mrs. Barnes is one of the kindest teachers I’ve ever met. She saved my son. I cannot ever thank her enough for the impact she has made on our lives. She helped him to heal from his past experiences with teachers, taught him school is positive and a safe place and with his mind helped him to keep learning and exploring information. For the first time he made friends and knows his teacher listens to him when he needs her. A 7- or 8-year-old should ever be depressed or suicidal and going into this year that is where he was. He hated school was terrified and depressed filled with self-doubt and loathing. After experiencing a year with Mrs. Barnes, he is back to that kind curious fascinated kid who doesn’t want to leave school. He went from not wanting to go every morning to not wanting to leave Mrs. Barnes for spring break. I cannot thank Mrs. Barnes enough for the impact she has had on this amazing child and making him feel special loved safe and included when he needed it the most. Mrs. Barnes is an asset to CCSD, and we appreciate this opportunity to give praise to someone who deserves it. Thank you.
Teacher: Ronald Barranco
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? This teacher creates a warm environment, is willingtohelp whenever, has patients for his students, and his assignments are clear to understand.
Teacher: Natalie Barrilles
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Ms. Barrilles has only been a teacher for 2 years but her control of the classroom and dedication to student engagement shows wisdom far beyond her years. Everyday Ms. Barrilles goes the extra mile to help students understand their material they’re learning. She will come in dress up as an explorer, bring in stuffed animals for students to examine, and always finds the time t listen to students outside of class. She’s a real-life Ms. Frizzle and brings a smile to the faces of children and her coworkers every time she walks into a room.
Teacher: Nya Berry
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She makes me smile because she makes it easy to learn the materials in class and she engages with the students. For example when we’re stuck on a problem, she has us write it on the board and helps us.
Teacher: Lindsay Besicmann
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She’s been a wonderful teacher for my son. He’s had a pretty hard year between an unexpected cross-country move at the beginning of school, to being diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder. Ms. B has been incredibly helpful this year with all the transitions we’ve had to go through.
Teacher: Kyle Bonar
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Mr. Bonar is an amazing teacher. He really tries to bond with his students. He goes out and really tries to put all his effort in to his teaching, the tries to make it fun for all us and he gives a good amount of work to do, not too much, not too less. Though students don’t like school, nor a history class, I really see people now enjoy history because we are able to look at the positive side and fun side because of Mr. Bonar. Thank you, Mr. Bonar.
Teacher: SierraBooth
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Hands down the best kindergarten teacher! She shows up every day with the biggest smile on her face, excited to see all of her students. She truly loves what she does. Her students love her so much, that they want her to teach them in 1st grade as well! My kiddo says she gives the best hugs 🙂 And she is pregnant, so the kids love her baby bump too! Can’t say enough about this teacher, she is amazing!
Teacher: Amy Boyett
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She seems to care a lot about her students and wants them to succeed. She provides a supportive learning environment for students and is generally very sweet. I’m glad she doesn’t get picky about late assignments.
Teacher: Michelle Branchini
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? I am a Kindergarten teacher in the grade above her. For two years I have watched her (without an aide for the most part because they couldn’t find one to hire and subs were nowhere to be found) surpass all grade level expectations, do it with a smile and love every minute of it. I have received students from her class for two years that are above grade level. She has two classes of students, over 50 kids total, had a student in a wheelchair, has multiple students with ieps and she never stops smiling. She spends her own money knowing she will never get it back and her kids and families adore her. She is there morning before school and is the last one to leave even after the custodians. She loves what she does, has helped the kids survive the pandemic with humor, compassion, and a well thought out rigorous and joyful curriculum. We are a better school because she starts our youngest students down the road to success with such enthusiasm and a strong engaging curriculum. She makes me smile abs inspired because when someone loves what they do it impacts and is contagious to everyone else. I am blessed to teach down the hall. If you need anything else, please let me know. She deserves the world because she gives her students her whole entire world.
Teacher: Vernell (Grace) Brannon
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? This teacher makes me smile cuz she’s amazing. She’s always making somebody smile and has a great attitude.
Teacher: Brooks Kendrick
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Coach KB does a phenomenal job working with our kids. He shows patience and understanding while demonstrating structure and guidance. He teaches our kids that sometimes you get knocked down, but we don’t stay down, you get back up and push through even harder. That’s what makes you a winner. Coach KB is a standup guy.
Teacher: Kristie Brown
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Because she is kind and helps me when I feel sad or worried.
Teacher: Amy Brown
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She wants her students to succeed & does everything she can to help them. She is very kind & helpful. The students are extremely lucky to have her as their teachers
Teacher: Jerilyn Brown
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Ms. Brown goes beyond for all her students and always caring for all the students’ parents. She full of life and always doing it with a smile and I’m grateful to her. She one of a kind teacher.
Teacher: Candy Buboltz
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? It is challenging to help make sure your child gets the resources they need. Candy helps coordinate resources, always has a positive attitude, and is really good at communicating with us. We smile because she’s in our corner, helping our child out with what they need.
Teacher: Patricianne Buono
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? She comes into class every day with a positive attitude and is always open to answering questions and helping her students. She makes her classes interesting and forms good relationships with her students and everyone feels comfortable going to her.
Teacher: James Burns
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? Last year, my daughter had Mr. Burns for English, and absolutely fell in love with his teaching style. Funny, hands on, wanting to make sure each and every kid in the class had a nick name, making sure each and every kid in the class had time to personally share any thoughts/ideas/stories that came across their heads. My daughter loved him and was so excited to get to high school this year. Unfortunately… she does not have any standout teachers in her opinion. However! She joined the volleyball team, and was so excited, she invited Mr. Burns to one of the games, and he surely did show up not just for her, but the other Escobedo students who are on the team. Hooped and hollered for them All. He makes a point to go to Soccer games for his other students, attend talent shows, stay in touch via his Instagram and respond to each and every comment left by students. He truly makes everyone feel not only included, but important. Even when they’re no longer his responsibility. He is one of the rare, he deserves every accolade he receives. We miss him so much and pray we find another Mr. Burns in her remaining years at CCSD!!!
Teacher: TEIGHLOR BUSTIS
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? BECAUSE SHE WAS PUT INTO THE CLASSROOM WHILE STILL STUDENT TEACHING AND HAS REALLY MADE AN IMPACT AND GAINED THE TRUST AND RESPECT OF KIDS WHO HAVE IT BAD ALREADY.
HER RAPPORT WITH THE KIDS IS AMAZING
Teacher: Jameil Butler
Why Does This Teacher Make You Smile? He makes me smile by checking on me when I’m down and always teaching us great stuff and he is very nice.
Teachers play a significant role in our lives, and we are thankful for them and all they do for our community every single day. We understand how important their job is in student development and learning and know they work tirelessly to educate children and add value to their lives! Thank you, you are our heroes!
