2021 Polk County Teacher Of The Year Announced

POLK COUNTY, FL — The Polk County School District announced its 2021 Polk County Teacher of the Year and the district's 2021 School-Related-Employee of the Year Thursday night.

Maude Graham, a third-grade teacher at Rosabelle W. Blake Academy, was named 2021 Polk County Teacher of the Year.

Graham teaches language arts and social studies. She became an orphan at a young age, with both of her parents passing away by the time she was nine. She struggled in school with reading but felt a desire to pursue a career as a teacher.

“I learned that teachers were progressing me, because I was young and fragile, wide-eyed, eager to learn, and very obedient,” Graham said. “Knowing this, I always wanted to become the teacher who taught students who struggled as I had. I always dreamt of teaching students reading strategies, no matter the circumstances that stood in their way.”

Graham, who has served in the Army National Guard, credits her military service with providing her valuable skills for becoming a teacher.

Lisa Gill, a paraeducator at Jesse Keen Elementary, is the district’s 2021 School-Related Employee of the Year.

Gill coordinates many parent involvement activities at Jesse Keen Elementary in Lakeland. She is known for making home visits whenever necessary and oversees the school’s weekend backpack distribution program to make sure students have enough to eat.

No matter what crisis is taking place, Gill is ready to act, the school district said. Following Hurricane Irma, she worked with a local church to create a food and supply bank at the school. She also helped arrange housing through local agencies for families whose homes were damaged during the storm.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Gill has offered to help wherever she is needed, such as organizing her school’s device distribution program, so students could get internet-accessible devices for online learning.

Graham and Gill will receive a cash prize donated by MIDFLORIDA Credit Union. As Teacher of the Year, Graham will also receive a car, courtesy of Lakeland Automall.

Both winners will move on to compete for state titles. Each year, the Florida Department of Education names a statewide Teacher of the Year, as well as a School-Related Employee of the Year.