A Clay County educator has been named Florida's teacher of the year.
Melissa Anne Matz is a seventh grade math teacher at Lakeside Junior High School. She has served as the Lakeside Junior High School math department head and leadership team member since 2015. She is the chair of Lakeside’s School Advisory Committee, a cooperating teacher for college interns and a school representative for district curriculum-map writing.
Matz "believes that building rapport with each of her students is an essential step in the process of teaching math, and she makes it a point to speak with each student as they enter her classroom," the Florida Department of Education said in a news release. "Ms. Matz takes the approach that stepping outside of one’s comfort zone and taking positive risks are how extraordinary gains are achieved."
Clay County Schools Superintendent David Broskie said, “Melissa Matz’s students see firsthand that the skills they acquire in her classroom can be applied to a broad spectrum of fields, and therefore, they can become well-rounded members of our community.”
As the 2023 Florida Teacher of the Year, Matz will receive a $20,000 award from the Florida Department of Education, a tuition waiver to pursue a graduate degree from the Florida State University College of Education, and a two-year Florida College scholarship from the Florida Prepaid College Board to present to a student of her choice.
She was selected from nearly 185,000 public school teachers throughout the state.
The other Teacher of the Year finalists will each receive $15,000 from the Florida Department of Education. They are Seema Naik, a fourth grade teacher at Eagle Ridge Elementary School in Broward County; Deelah Jackson, a fourth grade teacher at Samoset Elementary School in Manatee County; Jennifer Jaso, a social studies teacher at Sarasota Middle School in Sarasota County; and Trinity Brooke Whittington, a fourth grade English language arts and social studies teacher at Bell Elementary School in Gilchrist County.
Sixty-nine other Teacher of the Year district winners were recognized for their achievements and excellence in teaching, and each will receive a check for $10,000.