Meet Affton's Teachers of the Year

Kristina Pluff, second-grade teacher at Mesnier Primary School, has been named the Affton School District’s 2013-2014 Teacher of the Year, the school district announced in a news release.

Pluff was awarded the honor at a ceremony on April 10. She will have the opportunity to compete for the title of Missouri State Teacher of the Year, according to the release.

Pluff has been teaching at Affton for 13 years, holds a Master of Arts in Education and is certified in Gifted Education. On the application for Teacher of the Year, one of Pluff's colleagues states that she can "...encourage the most reluctant learners to dig deep and produce work worthy of praise."

“I am doing my part every day to improve and strengthen my profession by forging positive relationships with my students, their parents, and my colleagues," she said.

Each Affton school also named a Teacher of the Year for their building, according to the release. They include: Pluff for Mesnier Primary; Adrienne Wemhoener, professional school counselor at Gotsch Intermediate; Stacie Martin, eighth-grade math teacher at Rogers Middle; and Brian Jennings, English language arts teacher at Affton High School.

“The Affton School District staff is top-notch. They are continually striving to stretch their boundaries and deepen their bonds with colleagues, students, parents and the community,” Superintendent Dr. Steve Brotherton said in the release. “I am proud of each of our Teachers of the Year, and am certain that Kristina will represent Affton well.”

Find out more about the teachers of the year. Information is provided by the Affton School District:

• Wemhoener, the Gotsch Intermediate School Teacher of the Year, has worked in the Affton School District for five years. She has a Master of Science in Elementary and Secondary Counseling with Licensure and is currently finishing her license to be a Licensed Professional Counselor.
• Martin, the Rogers Middle School Teacher of the Year, has been teaching in the Affton School District for 19 years and currently teaches Pre-Algebra and Algebra. She has a Master of Science in Education plus thirty additional credit hours of study.
• Jennings, the Affton High School Teacher of the Year, has been teaching Fine Arts Speech and Theatre and English classes in the Affton School District for 13 years. He holds a Master of Arts in English and a Master of Arts in Education, Secondary English. 

The Affton School District Teacher of the Year for 2012-2013 was Cathy Cartier, an English language arts teacher at Affton High School. She is currently serving as the Missouri State Teacher of the Year.