Excellent Educators is a WAVY-TV 10 initiative to celebrate local teachers who have gone above and beyond for their students and communities during the coronavirus pandemic. These Excellent Educators were nominated by their school divisions. Congratulations to these educators for all of their hard work and accomplishments!
Name: Laura Longest
Division: Gloucester County Public Schools
Position: Second grade teacher at Achilles Elementary School
What the school division said about this Excellent Educator: Laura Longest has used her dedication to her learners to overcome challenges and barriers during the difficult times we have faced since last March. She found ways to stay connected with her students last year and all throughout the summer. Not only did she Zoom with students, but she created a Facebook page for her students and families. She shares stories, lessons, family activities, and more to keep families connected and engaged.
As we transitioned back to hybrid learning, Longest has not only kept this Facebook page active; she has worked to find ways to keep her hybrid learners connected to their classmates. Students Zoom with each other in morning meetings, and Longest Zooms daily with her hybrid students that are learning from home to address questions, introduce content, and just check in. She also provides evening story time and chats with her students on occasion to keep the home-school connection strong.
Longest is a team player. She and her second grade teammates are a strong unit. They work together to provide a cohesive learning experience for all students. The team even visited homes at the end of last year to share goodies with their students for the summer.
