Jersey City Teacher Honored In Student Essay Contest

JERSEY CITY, NJ — A Jersey City teacher was nominated by her students for going above and beyond in the classroom.

Amy Garrett of Explore Middle School was one of four winners of the 5th annual Above and “BEE”yond Teacher Essay Contest. The Applebee's sponsored contest recognizes New Jersey teachers with a $500 sponsorship check to use toward their classroom for the upcoming 2021-2022 school year.

The teachers were also rewarded with their choice of an end-of-year party at Applebee’s or in-classroom celebration for their current class or complimentary two Dinner for Four certificates, courtesy of Applebee’s.

Garrett's student, 7th grader Victoria Rich, wrote the winning essay about her favorite English teacher. In her essay Victoria wrote:

“Ms. Garrett is very deserving of this award. She has thought of every possible way to make learning fun and interesting. She never gives up on her students and pushes them as far as she can. You can tell that she wants the best for us and loves her job. She will stop at nothing to create lessons that will intrigue every single student. She knows how to hold a virtual class, how to make the best lessons, and how to make sure we are learning and retaining all of the information we need to be.”

Garrett was not expecting the nomination and thankful to Rich, "This was such a nice surprise and wonderful news! I am so proud of Victoria and honored that she chose me," she said in a press release from the school.

Principal Allyson Krone said in the release, "We are so proud of Victoria for taking the imitative to enter this contest and spending the time to write the essay. Ms. Garrett is an integral part of the Explore family, so we were not surprised to find out Victoria wrote this essay and that it was a chosen winner."

Garrett is a Social Studies and Language Arts Literacy Facilitator at Explore Middle School. She has been with the Hudson County Schools of Technology District for nine years