WEST CAPE MAY – On April 11, West Cape May Elementary School announced its teacher of the year. This year, a support staff member, Debbie Lewis, was chosen for the honor.
Each year, the New Jersey Department of Education recognizes one teacher or one support staff member from each school in the state for the distinction. This is the second time that a support staff member has been chosen for the honor at West Cape May Elementary.
Lewis started the After School program at West Cape May in January of 2014. After a slow start the program grew over the years to where an average of 10 students routinely utilize the program each day. Lewis is a creative and supportive instructional aide and after care coordinator. She always has a smile on her face, even on the toughest days, and is always your best cheerleader.
She initiated a program to reduce food waste in the cafeteria. Lewis takes the unused food items from the lunch periods and delivers them to Family Promise on her own time. She also started the Nickels for Niceness program which shares random acts of kindness.
Lewis also knows sign language, and teaches the students at the end of the lunch period that she supervises. The children are learning a new beneficial language and they love it so much they don’t even notice that they are learning a new language. Her enthusiasm while sharing some vocabulary and sentences has the children eager to learn more!
The Board of Education recognized Lewis at their regular meeting April 12.
