Sky View High School teacher Kim Nield (center) is presented with the Hansen Honorarium Award by Dell Loy Hansen (left) and his daughter Keri (right).
NORTH LOGAN – As the school year came to a close, teachers throughout both the Cache County and Logan school districts were honored in front of their peers and school studentbodies for their dedication and effectiveness in the classroom. Some were surprised in front of end-of-year school assemblies, while others were surprised in their classrooms.
The Cache County School District teacher of the year is Morgan Christensen, a third-grade teacher at Summit Elementary School.
“Morgan exemplifies hard work, dedication, collaboration, and expertise in the way she teaches her students,” said district Human Resources Director Kirk McRae. “She is a professional educator of the highest caliber and we are fortunate to have her represent the Cache County School District in this capacity.”
In the Logan City School District, that honor was presented to Logan High’s Michelle Hatch, a Career Technical Education instructor. The school held a surprise, impromptu assembly to recognize Hatch as not only the Logan High teacher of the year but also the district teacher of the year. Not only was she awarded with balloons and flowers, but was also given the privilege of driving a car from the Murdock Auto Group for a year.
That district also recognized Assistant Principal Jill Beer at Mount Logan Middle School as the Administrator of the Year.
This year’s Innovative Teaching Award in the Logan School District was presented to Cami Player, a 5th-grade teacher at Woodruff Elementary. According to the district, the Innovative Teaching Award recognizes teachers for supporting student learning through innovative teaching practices using technology. This award honors exceptional and innovative educators and raises awareness and exposure of the outstanding work being done by classroom teachers through innovative technology practices to create positive learning spaces during these unprecedented times.
In the Cache district, Spring Creek Middle School teacher Kim Jenson received the UCET21 Innovative Teacher Award from the Utah Coalition for Educational Technology. The award was given in recognition of her efforts to integrate technology into the classroom. Jenson teaches 7th-grade language arts and the writing extension of language arts at Spring Creek.
Additional district employees were also recognized for their work. In the Cache County School District, Classified & Educational Support Employees of the Year are:
Cheryl Porritt, Paraprofessional of the Year
Brent Powell, Bus Driver of the Year
Amy Smith, Secretary of the Year
Ann Richman, Food Service Manager of the Year
Josh Hansen, Head Custodian of the Year
In addition to district-wide awards, Hats Off Awards were distributed to teachers throughout the Cache County School District, courtesy of the Cache Education Foundation. The Hats Off Awards are supported by businesses which provide a $500 cash award to teachers who were nominated by parents, students and community members for their excellence in the classroom. The 2021 Hats Off recipients include:
- Holli Jackson – Birch Creek Elementary School. Award sponsored by Cache Title Company.
- Pat Ashcroft – Cedar Ridge Elementary School. Award sponsored by Cache Valley Bank.
- Annette Egan – Cedar Ridge Elementary School. Award sponsored by Cache Valley Bank.
- Maria Jones – Heritage Elementary School. Award sponsored by Young Toyota.
- Emily Sorenson – Millville Elementary School. Award sponsored by Herm’s Inn.
- Shannon Erickson – Mountainside Elementary School. Award sponsored by Malouf.
- Emma Mumford – River Heights Elementary School. Award sponsored by Hickman Land Title.
- Mindy Dahle – Summit Elementary School. Award sponsored by Caffe Ibis and Spirit Goat.
- Katie Jenson – White Pine Elementary School. Award sponsored by Just My Wish Foundation.
- Ashley Grimnes – North Cache Middle School. Award sponsored by Chaparro State Farm.
- Joslyn Heiniger – South Cache Middle School. Award sponsored by Northern Title.
- Makaela Cutler – Cache High School. Award sponsored by Cache Valley Bank.
- Tyler Hansen – Mountain Crest High School. Award sponsored by JBS.
- Jana DeQuadros – Sky View High School. Award sponsored by Pepperidge Farm.
In addition to Hats Off awards, the Cache Education Foundation distributed the Hansen Honorarium, an award presented to one teacher each at Sky View, Green Canyon, Ridgeline and Mountain Crest high schools. The honor is funded by Dell Loy Hansen in honor of his mother Belva who was a former educator. The Hansen Honorarium recipients for the 2020-21 school year include Kim Nield (Sky View), Pam Pierson (Green Canyon), Shyanne Ovard (Ridgeline) and Allison Feinauer (Mountain Crest).
The foundation also awarded the Bill Lindauer “It’s a Great Day for Learning” award, which was presented to Denae Pruden at Nibley Elementary.