Good teachers know the value of regular praise even if it’s something they rarely receive themselves.
But this week a few of Chicago’s best teachers got recognition from their students.
Students from more than 100 public schools in the city nominated 776 teachers to the Suave Performance Plus award program to recognize exceptional service. The six winners each received $5,000, as did their schools.
Winners were honored for their service as mentors, tutors and counselors. One winner runs conflict resolution seminars for high school inmates at Cook County Jail. Another set up an after-school-tutoring program for students hoping to attend college.
Among the presenters at the ceremony Thursday at Harold Washington Library was Michelle Obama, a Whitney Young High School graduate and wife of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama.
The winners were:
– Joan Harris, Schurz High School.
– Jerry Mash, Westinghouse Career Academy.
– Shukrani Gray-Soumare, North Lawndale College Preparatory High School.
– Myri G. Pearson-Jeanty, York Alternative High School.
– Jeremy Peters, Paul Robeson High School.
– LaKeetha Shawnae Adams, Chicago Vocational Career Academy.
