Rotary Club Honors DMPS Teachers of the Year
Judy Pauley of Brody Middle School, James McNear of Roosevelt High School and Schelsy Smith of Findley Elementary School were honored as Educators of the Year by the Rotary Club of Des Moines.
Congratulations to three DMPS teachers honored by the Rotary Club of Des Moines as Educators of the Year during the club’s annual awards luncheon Thursday at the Wakonda Club.
The elementary honoree is Schelsy Smith who teaches 4th grade at Findley where she’s been throughout her nine-year teaching career. Her arrival there coincided with Findley’s selection for the federal Turnaround Arts program which emphasizes integration of the arts throughout a school’s curriculum. Smith has embraced that innovative concept in her lesson-planning and credits it with increasing her students’ enthusiasm for learning.
Brody’s Judy Pauley, a seventh-grade IB Language and Literature teacher, is the middle school winner. She’s taught for 22 years and impacted students’ lives in a variety of ways beyond the classroom including her activism in anti-bullying, raising environmental consciousness and advocacy for the homeless.
Roosevelt vocal music instructor and choir director James McNear was selected from the high school nominees. He is the founder and director of Roosevelt’s Bridges 2 Harmony Choir which performs frequently in the community, including at Thursday’s luncheon.
Each of the award-winners receives a $1,000 honorarium and a traveling plaque to be displayed in their school.
