SILVER SPRING, Md. — On March 12, BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life) presented its first annual Tiffany Cooper Gueye Educator of the Year award to Betsy Perry at Harmony Hills Elementary School in Silver Spring, Md. BELL is a national nonprofit that partners with schools and youth organizations to provide evidence based, holistic summer programs that close the achievement gap in underserved communities at 135 sites in 34 states, including Maryland.
In the summer of 2017, Perry served as the BELL Program Manager in Montgomery County’s Summit Hall Elementary School site in Gaithersburg, Md. “The experiences I gained as a BELL leader are invaluable,” Perry says. “I have used many of the tools, resources, and skills from the BELL program to become a better teacher and leader in my school and community.”
Perry was cited for setting high expectations for achievement, modeling and encouraging a growth mindset in scholars, and creating a supportive community for teacher collaboration. “Ms. Perry is an outstanding educator who has been an inspiration to both students and staff, “says Carole Rawlison, principal of Summit Hall Elementary School. “She is a dedicated professional who utilizes her time and talents in school and in our community to enable our students to be better prepared for life.” During the year, Perry serves as a Montgomery County special education teacher and co-chair of the Elementary Councils on Teaching and Learning.
The Tiffany Cooper Gueye Educator of the Year award was founded this year to recognize a BELL educator who best exemplifies BELL’s core values of Excellence, Learning, Respect, Courage and Collaboration. The name of the award honors BELL’s former CEO. For more information about BELL, visit their website www.experiencebell.org .