Last Saturday at the historic Balboa Theater, teachers from across San Diego County were honored for their service to children. La Mesa Arts Academy (LMAAC) teacher, Laramie Littig, was nominated as Teacher of the Year at her school and was also selected as the La Mesa-Spring Valley Teacher of the Year last spring. On Saturday night, she was honored by San Diego County Office of Education Superintendent and many others for her outstanding service and dedication to children.
The team from La Mesa Arts Academy were out in full force to support Ms. Littig. Teachers and administrators from throughout the district, as well as past and present students were also in attendance for this special occasion.
Last year, one of the San Diego County Teacher of Year recipients was Camden Flores. Ms. Flores, at the time, served at Bancroft Elementary and she now teaches at La Presa Elementary. During the Salute to Teachers event on Saturday, Ms. Flores addressed the audience and shared her story on behalf of children, “I grew up as one of ‘those kids’… impacted by poverty and abuse. I struggled in school, barely graduated high school, and dropped out of college twice. How did I make it? I made it here because I had mentors along the way. I was lucky. For some of our most vulnerable children, the only mentors they will ever have are their teachers. They need us to say, ‘I believe in you. We can do this together.’ Our power resides in the relationships we build with our students. They won’t remember that fancy lesson, or that beautiful bulletin board, but they will remember how much we love them.” Ms. Littig was named one of ten finalists for San Diego Teacher of the
Year and was given this honor by Ms. Flores.
Upon receiving the honor, Ms. Littig thanked her team, family and also honored her own fourth grade teacher. As Ms. Littig states, “My teacher in 4th grade truly saw me when I needed to be seen. That connection turned my life around because I felt important and smart. All students need to feel this connection in order to succeed. I strive hard every day to make that happen.” The team at La Mesa-Spring Valley Schools is proud of the hard work and dedication of Ms. Littig that was celebrated at Salute to Teachers this year.
For the link to the Union-Tribune article with the list of the five SDCOE Teachers of the Year, click here http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/education/sd-me-teachers-year-20180915-story.html and for the link to the SDCOE media page regarding finalists and when the show will re-air, click here
https://www.sdcoe.net/news/Pages/Introducing-the-2018-19-San-Diego-County-Teachers-of-the-Year.aspx
