On Thursday, June 2, 2022, Superintendent Christopher Delgado and Director of School/Community Relations & Pupil Accounting Diane Bauman, along with FEA President Christopher Deyonke, surprised Carol McGorisk at Longacre Elementary School with the Judy White-Ora “Teaching with Heart and Soul” award.
Carol has been in education for more than 30 years, most of which have been in Kindergarten, and all with Farmington Public Schools. Over the years she has served students at Hillside, Wooddale, Flanders, Kenbrook and Longacre Elementary Schools. When she transitioned into the role of Leveled Literacy Interventionist she served students and Wood Creek, Beechview, and Longacre Elementary School for several years. For the past seven years, Carol has been a Kindergarten teacher at Longacre Elementary School.
Carol serves on District committees such as the English Language Arts Committee and the Kindergarten Committee. She regularly provides feedback to the District regarding the development and implementation of Kindergarten assessments and progress reporting procedures. Carol routinely opens her classroom for educators across the district to observe her teaching practices and learn from her.
One of her nominators stated, “Within the classroom, it’s been a joy as a parent to see the many activities she facilitates with her students including those that serve to have the children work together with their classmates to achieve a common goal.
One of the many things that makes Carol such a tremendous and effective teacher is that she not only respects the uniqueness of each child, but she embraces it and celebrates it, which helps to build the children’s self-confidence. Carol effortlessly exudes tremendous passion and energy.
Carol nurtures her children in such a way that every student follows her guiding light and they work on themselves to become good leaders and most importantly to be a good person. Carol listens with the intent to hear. She recognizes that each child is unique and has their own voice. She has meaningful discussions with each child about their progress on meeting academic and social/emotional goals.
Carol understands that as a teacher she educates the whole child which encompasses more than reading, writing, and math.
The "Teaching with Heart and Soul" Award was created in honor of a former Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, Judy White-Ora, who passed away in 2006. Judy believed in investing in other people and relationships. During her years in education, she developed a pledge for teachers and her ultimate goal was to receive one million signed pledges from educators around the world. Following her death, members of the Farmington Public Schools’ community wanted to make sure the torch that Judy lit was passed onto the new generation of teachers, thus creating the “Teaching with Heart and Soul Award” for teachers that lead their lives by the words of the pledge. The pledge reads as follows:
Today I will:
• Respect the uniqueness of each child
• Ignite the joy of learning
• Listen to their voices
• Put human connections first
• Encourage the spirit and let their light shine
• Create a caring learning community
Carol will be honored at the Farmington Public Schools’ Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, June 7, 2022. The Board meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m. and be held at the Maxfield Education Center at 32789 W. Ten Mile Rd., Farmington. This meeting will also be streamed LIVE on TV-10.
Congratulations, Carol! Thank you for your service to our students!
