Appreciating Our Teachers

Last Friday (May 7th) marked the end of National Teacher Appreciation Week, an important time to recognize the hard work and dedication of the many people who are providing mentorship and guidance to our students in the classroom to ensure they succeed in life.

I thought it was fitting that on that day I had the opportunity to present the recipient of the 2010 Jason Williams Alumni Leadership Award to an outstanding alumna of the Teach For America program in Arizona.

Having served as the Executive Director of Teach For America from 2000-2005, I had the privilege of working with hundreds of teachers to have an impact on thousands of students. While serving in that role, our region went from last to first in student achievement and teacher satisfaction in just three years. The credit for that success really belongs to the amazing teachers who created a nurturing and supportive learning environment for their kids in the highest needs schools in the state.

Amongst all of that great talent, one teacher in particular stood out this year. The 2010 recipient of the Jason Williams Alumni Leadership Award was Lessita Lorin. Allow me to share with you some of her accomplishments since joining Teach For America in 2005.

Lessita has been teaching in the Laveen School District for five years at the same school in which she was originally placed through Teach For America. As a 6th grade teacher at M.C. Cash Elementary School, Lessita helped to develop a teacher support program for new and developing teachers. Through this program, Lessita and others observe classrooms, provide feedback to the new teachers on their practice, assist in creating development plans with those teachers and provide ongoing support as they improve their teaching practice. She has been doing all of these things throughout the course of her regular academic workday while still maintaining a full teaching load with her sixth graders.

Lessita is the recipient of one of five ASU Education Leadership Fellowships and is working to become principal-certified in Arizona. She recently accepted a position as the Dean of Curriculum and Instruction at Phoenix Collegiate Academy. During the 2010-2011 school year, Lessita will be responsible for supporting the development of the school’s curricula, as well as coaching and providing teacher development.

There is so much more to share about Lessita. I encourage you to watch this video to find out what other great things Lessita has been doing.



I am proud of Lessita’s great accomplishments and the opportunities she has created for her students. There is no doubt that she will continue to impact the lives of so many children. We are lucky to have a great teacher like Lessita in Arizona. Congratulations to Lessita, and thank you to all of the outstanding teachers in Arizona.