Local Educators Honored by Online Learning Provider For Innovative Teaching During Pandemic

V.I. Department of Education educators were honored by representatives from Edmentum, an online learning provider, for their innovation in virtual teaching during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a release issued late Monday.

Recognition ceremonies were held on Jan. 25 and 27 in the St. Croix and St. Thomas-St. John districts, respectively, to highlight educators who displayed tremendous leadership, skill and passion using online technology to ensure students could continue learning while schools were closed due to COVID-19. The educators were nominated by their school administrators, Education said.

During the ceremonies, St. Thomas-St. John District Superintendent Dr. Stefan Jurgen and St. Croix District Acting Superintendent Ericilda Ottley-Herman praised the educators for their resilience and creativity.

Education Published On February 15, 2022 04:46 AM

Staff Consortium | February 15, 2022 04:46:57 AM

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Honorees in the St. Croix District By THE V.I. DEPT. OF EDUCATION

STTJ-District-honoredHonorees in the St. Thomas-St. John District (Credit: V.I. Dept. of Education)

“Every school has at least one shining star that pushed and found an innovative way to not only move their children along, but also their colleagues along with them,” Ottley-Herman said. “In every building, there are teacher-leaders, there are friends, and everyone becomes a family. We wanted to turn our eyes inward and recognize the hardworking educators in the St. Croix District.”

Jurgen praised the Department’s partnership with Edmentum.

“At the start of the pandemic, we thought our children were coming back after three weeks,” he said, adding, “but those three weeks has turned into almost two years, but Edmentum was right there. We didn’t have to look far, they reached out to us and informed us that there were additional services on their platform that we were already paying for that could be used to support us through the pandemic. We are grateful for their partnership.”