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Bainbridge's Steinmetz earns November BG Teacher of the Month
BAINBIRDGE -- The recognition that comes with being named Putnam County's Teacher of the Month is special to any teacher.
For Bainbridge Elementary School teacher Nancy Steinmetz, being chosen as the November Banner Graphic Teacher of the Month is especially memorable because she was nominated by a fellow educator.
"It's really nice because they see every day what I'm doing," Steinmetz said of her colleagues. "It's really an honor to be nominated by someone you work with."
For his part, nominator Kevin Lutes, a Bainbridge fifth-grade teacher, sounds honored to work with Steinmetz.
"I have never met another educator who puts more time and thought into their profession than she does," Lutes wrote. "She goes out of her way to communicate not only with her fellow teachers, but also with the students she works with. On a daily basis, the children she works with know their objectives for any/everything the work on."
As the Bainbridge Title I teacher, Steinmetz interacts closely with teachers and students throughout the building, doing mainly reading remediation work for kindergarten through fourth grades, as well as some math remediation work with the fourth grade.
Working with 94 kids spread over nine periods, Steinmetz's work is constantly changing, a fact not lost on Lutes.
"Her interventions are immediate and based on data," he wrote. "She keeps her classroom groups fluid and flexible while still being extremely organized. And if that weren't enough, she truly loves her profession -- and it shows."
The wide-ranging challenges of 94 students and the demands of remediation work are among the things Steinmetz loves most about her job.
"They challenge me every day, but in a good way," she said.
Presented with a $50 gift card from Banner Graphic General Manager Daryl Taylor, Steinmetz said she was unsure how the money would be used, but "it will be used in the classroom."
Steinmetz has taught for 18 years, all of them at Bainbridge and the last 13 as the Title I teacher.
She has been married to Paul Steinmetz for 20 years, and they have a 14-year-old daughter.
Nominations for the December Teacher of the Month will be accepted through Tuesday, Dec. 24. Voting will be conducting between Dec. 30 and Jan. 5.
All educators who win Teacher of the Month honors will be entered into the final Banner Graphic Teacher of the Year contest in May.