Monroe County School officials are pleased to announce Coral Shores High School Teacher Beth Rosenow as the 2017-2018 District Teacher of the Year. District officials chose Ms. Rosenow out of 11 teachers to represent as the district’s Teacher of the Year nomination for the Florida Department of Education’s state recognition.

She has taught for the past 18 years, serving for six, going on seven of those years in Monroe County Schools at Key Largo School and Coral Shores High School. Ms. Rosenow began her teaching career in 1999 in Fenton, Michigan. She came to teach in Monroe County in 2011.

Monroe County Schools Superintendent Mark Porter said Ms. Rosenow has demonstrated her excellence and commitment. “Each year it is my privilege to recognize one of the outstanding teachers in the Monroe County Schools and each year I am amazed at the qualities of the individuals we recognize.  Beth Rosenow is a deserving recipient of this recognition.  Her marine science and leadership programs at Coral Shores High School are truly exemplary.”

As an expert in her discipline, an active participant in the local marine science community, and a leader at CSHS, Ms. Rosenow has certifications in fish identification and rescue diving, and has been recognized district-wide for her demonstration of Great Educational Moments, or GEMs in Monroe County Schools. Ms. Rosenow said it’s been rewarding to challenge her students and herself. “I try to connect my classroom to the world outside of it as much as possible.  When you make the material relevant, students are engaged and simply put, engaged students learn.”

Principal of Coral Shores High School, Blake Fry said she goes above and beyond in making connections with her students. “I have watched Beth develop relationships with her students throughout her career that have lifelong implications for their success in education and their adult lives.”

Ms. Rosenow’s colleagues and community collaborators in the classroom said she has a unique teaching style, using hands-on techniques in her Marine Biology class. Former CSHS Marine Science Teacher and President of Synergy Energy Associates President David Makepeace said she has combined her expertise, her passion for the environment, and love of learning, to create an engaging experience for her students. “It is in the Marine Studies Program (MSP), a project/service-learning based class that Beth is at her creative best.  Every August, her students learn to assess the health of the reefs and report the data to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).”

Halley Lane, a student of Ms. Rosenow’s, said she has had the pleasure of having Ms. Rosenow as her teacher at KLS and CSHS.  She said Ms. Rosenow’s lessons transcend the classroom for her and many of her fellow classmates. ”Ms. Rosenow’s teaching abilities make her an excellent candidate for Teacher of the Year, but the bonds she forms with all of her students are a testament to her character and her truly inspiring impact on the Monroe County school system.”

Ms. Rosenow will advance as the MCSD candidate for the Florida Department of Education’s Teacher of the Year. As the district’s teacher of the year, she will have access to professional development and networking opportunities with fellow district teachers of the year throughout the state.

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School Teacher of the Year 

Gerald Adams Elementary School: Katherine Yeaworth

Horace O’Bryant School: John Grimsey

Key Largo School: Tiffany Zepeda

Key West High School: Shannon Perkins

Marathon Middle High School: Diane Walker

Ocean Studies Charter School: Jessica Martinez

Plantation Key School: Brenda Schipper

Poinciana Elementary School: Matthew Poffenberger

Sugarloaf School: Alena Ellerbee

Stanley Switlik Elementary School: Wendy Houser