Star Gomez Chosen as Teacher of the Year

Apollo Elementary School 2nd-grade teacher Star Gomez was named Putnam City Schools’ “Teacher of the Year” during the district’s annual celebration of teaching excellence on Feb. 25.

“I’m honored to be surrounded by excellence. The teachers in my school and this district inspire me. It’s their example that teaches me and their help that enables me. Putnam City gives me an opportunity to be the best teacher I can be and the chance for me to do what I love and love what I do,” Gomez said in accepting the award.

Gomez took her first job as a full-time classroom teacher just three years ago when she signed on to teach at Apollo. Her enthusiasm, natural teaching abilities and desire to make a difference in the lives of students quickly turned her into paragon of teaching, says Barbara Crump, Apollo principal.

“Star is exactly what her name says she is. She’s a star. Her passion for children is amazing. In the classroom, students are enthralled by her enthusiasm and joyful approach. She cares deeply for each student, even visiting all of her students in their homes several times a year. She goes the extra mile to incorporate her passion for teaching and her desire to improve the lives of others. There are few people in our world who make such a difference in the lives of children,” Crump says.

Gomez says she was meant to be a teacher, something she realized in college because of her own passion for learning and a deep desire to help others. Experiences in college cemented her career choice. Teaching life skills to inmates in state prison taught her that some people never get a chance to learn basic skills that will help them thrive as a functional, happy member of society. Four years of volunteering as a team host for Special Olympics taught her the value of trying hard and handling wins and losses. Serving as a mentor in the Big Brother Big Sister program taught her difficult circumstances can be overcome with right choices and resilience.

Gomez’s class is known as “Dream Team 18,” a reference to her insistent belief that they will stay in school and succeed in school in order to graduate from high school in 2018.

With her students, Gomez first focuses on building strong relationships.

“Each student comes to school as someone with unique personality, history and potential. To be an effective teacher, I need to get to know and understand each student and develop a relationship of trust. When there’s trust, students know they can’t fail. They know if they make a mistake, they won’t be defined by that mistake. They can fix it and learn from it, so they’re always willing to try,” Gomez says.

A positive classroom environment is another foundational element for empowering students, Gomez believes. The skills of respect, cooperation, responsibility, empathy, persistence, problem solving and self-control are modeled and practiced over and over until students fall into the habit of using the skills. It’s necessary to learn and practice such skills, because they’ll enable students to cope with situations they face in school and later in life, Gomez says.

Gomez has high expectations for students. She challenges students to stretch themselves and take on new and demanding concepts and materials, knowing students are excited to go above and beyond.

“They want to prove to me and each other that learning is something at which they are good. What a great thing to prove!” Gomez says.

Gomez is still focused on teaching and learning even when there is not a group of eager 2nd-graders in front of her. Professional workshops have increased her knowledge and abilities in reading instruction, technology, teaching students who are still learning English, professional collaboration and more. As a new teacher trainer for the district, she guides beginning teachers in creating positive classrooms, building relationships and achieving academic success. As Apollo’s math chair, she shares information to enrich teaching and student mastery of skills, and she coordinated a math and science night that drew more than 300 students and their families to the school for an evening of learning and fun.

Gomez is just as energetic outside the school as she is inside the school. She volunteers at a local food bank, helping fill food orders and train other volunteers. At the Animal Welfare Division of the Police Department, she walks, cleans and trains dogs. For a local women’s organization, she teaches and organizes interest groups and service projects. In her own neighborhood she organized a book club, and she plays on a recreational coed soccer team. It’s a busy, adventurous life, one that Crump says makes Gomez a “incredible role model for students or adults.”

“Each of these activities encourages me to be a better person and therefore a better teacher. I hope my students make the choice one day to follow this example,” Gomez says.

Gomez says her ultimate goal is to help children become happy, healthy citizens who are able to function in and contribute to the world around them, both today and in the future. Being part of students’ lives and successes is a privilege, she says, and one that she doesn’t take lightly.

“I love teaching. It’s a chance to combine my passions in life with a profession, and I’m very grateful for that chance,” Gomez says.