Colson Elementary School Teacher Receives National Hero Award

SEFFNER, FL — A teacher at Colson Elementary School in Seffner is among 11 teachers to receive the National Liberty Museum's 16th annual Teacher as Hero Awards sponsored by State Farm.

The Teacher as Hero Awards recognizes outstanding educators who represent best practices in teaching and serve as role models to their colleagues and students. Their achievements and inspiring stories will be shared with the tens of thousands of visitors who come to the museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from all over the world.

Each of the honorees and winning teachers were chosen from among 30 national applications from eight states, including Florida, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, North Carolina, New Mexico, and California. Fellow educators, school administrators, students and community members nominated the teachers and shared stories of how they each made a positive impact in the community.

Kimberly Benton, a fifth-grade science and math teacher at Colson Elementary School, is among three Florida teachers to receive the award.

The Teacher as Hero Awards recognizes outstanding educators who represent best practices in teaching and serve as role models for their colleagues and students. Their achievements and inspiring stories will be shared with the tens of thousands of visitors who come to the museum from across the region and from all over the world.

Each of the honorees and winning teachers were chosen from among 30 nominees from eight states, including Florida, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, North Carolina, New Mexico and California.

Fellow educators, school administrators, students and community members nominated the teachers and shared stories of the positive impacts they've made on their schools and the community.

Benton created a flexible and non-traditional classroom for her diverse mix of students, including students who are hard of hearing and other exceptional students.

She took opportunities to teach students about deafness, interpreters and how her whole class can work together to become a family. Her ability to communicate with both hearing and deaf and hard-of-hearing students make all the students feel included and give her hearing students a better understanding of the problems facing students with hearing disabilities as well as introduced them to a new language, American sign language.

The classroom model worked so well that it became a model for the county’s deaf and hard of hearing program.

State Farm agent Austin Jeffrey Connors presented the award Benton.

Other Florida winners included Sasha Azouth, a sixth- through eighth-grade computer science teacher at James S. Rickards Middle School in Fort Lauderdale, and Vincent C. Newman, a horticulture teacher at McArthur High School in Hollywood.

Azouth received the TOP Exceptional Teacher Award and Benton and Rickards received the Exceptional Teacher Awards.

The Exceptional Teacher Award is presented to an outstanding educator who leverages his or her excellence in teaching to make a difference in the lives of students. These teachers are recognized for fostering an appreciation for diversity in the classroom, teaching students how to resolve conflicts responsibly, giving students a deeper understanding of the relationships between rights and responsibilities, and honoring student voices in the classroom and public spaces.

“In partnership with State Farm, the National Liberty Museum is pleased to recognize this year’s Teacher as Hero recipients who keep liberty at the core of their teaching, and because of that, have made us optimistic about the future of liberty and those who will preserve it,” said Liz Saccardi, chief advancement officer of the National Liberty Museum. “The teachers whom we honor through this program are everyday heroes who go above and beyond to motivate, inspire and cheer on their students, and we were so happy to see that nominations for these heroes doubled from last year, with applications coming from across eight states.”

“At State Farm, we recognize the passion to teach during challenging times is a unique gift. As the saying goes, ‘Teachers give you something to take home to think about – besides homework.’ All of these educators’ accomplishments reflect the very best of our area,” said Jose Soto, State Farm corporate responsibility analyst. “As the nation’s largest insurer, our investment in education is tied to our company mission to help individuals realize their dreams. Teachers help children realize their dreams by providing them with a quality education, which helps them become good community citizens and prepares them for the workforce.”