Jennie Morris, pre-school
teacher at Just 4 Kids Pres-School in Hesperia was
honored this week as the Teacher of the Month in the
Teachers are Heroes Program sponsored by Victor Valley
College, San Bernardino County Schools, Clear Channel
Radio, and Desert Community Bank.
In the nomination letter submitted by a classroom volunteer,
Ms. Morris was described as a wonderful, intelligent
and loving person. The essay portrayed Ms. Morris as
a teacher very creative and totally involved with her
students. “Her love, compassion, and patience are
boundless. She works many hours in and outside the classroom
for the benefit of her students. Her love for them is
reflected by the way they all love her in return. She
participates in field trips by driving the students and
finding ways to open their minds to new learning experiences.
Her classroom
is fun and educational,” said Mrs.
Susie Ponzo in her nomination letter. Mrs. Ponzo is the
mother of Brandon Ponzo who was a former student at the
school and was tragically killed when hit by a car. “We
are so devastated and Ms. Morris was one of the first
calls to our home. She loved Brandon very much and has
supported our family by being with us through all of
this. She created beautiful pictures of our son and passed
them out at his service. She also made our family a beautiful
Photo/Poem Tribute. Mrs. Morris’ husband was recently
injured in a robbery attempt, and her family was directly
affected by Hurricane Katrina. She did not hesitate to
go there to help. I think she is a hero in many ways,
more than I can mention here. She is always ready to
help anyone in need. She is kind, loving, and graceful.
Ms. Morris continues to work hard caring for her students,
her family and her friends. She is artistic, creative
and a tremendous role model. My son, Brandon, absolutely
adored Jennie. She was a big influence for good in his
life as well as in mine. I feel she more than deserves
the honor of being called a Hero. She certainly is in
the eyes and hearts of our family,” stated Mrs.
Ponzo in her letter.
The Teachers are Heroes Program honors one kindergarten
through 14 teacher every month out of the nearly 7,000
teachers in the High Desert. Teachers are selected
based on essays submitted to Clear Channel Radio
stations and
then reviewed by a panel of judges.
Honorees receive gift certificates for school supplies,
a recognition plaque, and special treats for the classroom.
At the end of the year, all twelve honorees and their
students will be invited to an annual celebration held
at Maverick Stadium.
“We are honoring teachers who go above and beyond, be it in the classroom,
the school, or the community,” said Lori Kildal, Ph.D., Dean of Instruction
at Victor Valley College.
Teacher nominations may be submitted in the form of 500 words-or-less essays
to www.KATCOUNTRY1007.com , www.Y102FM.com , www.TheFox106.com , www.Talk960.com,
or www.vvc.edu.
Links to all
of these Teachers "R" Heroes sites area available from the home page of Victor
Valley College. Go to http://www.vvc.edu/ and
click on the Teachers
"R" Heroes graphic near the top center of the page.
Nominations
may
also
be
sent
by
mail
to
Victor
Valley
College,
Teachers
are
Heroes,
18422
Bear Valley Road, Victorville, CA 92395, attention
Dr. Lori Kildal.
