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Joanne Wright
2013 Pinellas County Teacher of the Year
Safety Harbor Middle School sixth-grade reading teacher Joanne Wright was honored as Pinellas County School's 2013 Outstanding Teacher of the Year.
“I want my students to know how to function in society, I want them to be able to dissect complex text and answer text dependent questions and ace the FCAT. From a human point of view, I want them to know how to work in a group with people who they don’t necessarily socialize with because that’s life. I want my classroom to reflect real life.” said Wright.
In addition to being named the Outstanding Educator, she was given the Outstanding Educator Fan Favorite Award. This award category was voted on by students, parents and the community.
The award was presented during the Evening of Excellence at Ruth Eckard Hall in Clearwater. The Evening of Excellence is sponsored by the Pinellas Education Foundation.
Wright earned a bachelor's degree from University of Natal where she studied English.
Other finalists for outstanding educator included
- Jennifer Anderson, a language arts and reading teacher at East Lake High
- Becky Bride, a math teacher and math department chair at Palm Harbor University High
- Krista Kelleher, a teacher at Sawgrass Lake Elementary
- Jennifer Klimis, a teacher in the gifted program at Tarpon Springs Fundamental Elementary
- Jean Wark, a kindergarten teacher at Perkins Elementary