Liberty teacher nominated for VFW Teacher of the Year
Liberty Elementary School first grade teacher Ellen Sherer has been nominated for the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) National Citizenship Education Teacher of the Year award.
Larry Shaver, VFW Post #5917 Commander, and John Davin, member of the National Legislative Committee for the VFW, nominated Sherer for her hard work creating a Veterans Day assembly at Liberty Elementary School. They said Sherer's efforts helped the students recognize the importance of honoring those who have served.
In early March Sherer should learn if she has been selected to receive the VFW National Citizenship Education Teacher of the Year award. If chosen, Sherer will go to Washington D.C. for a banquet and awards ceremony.
Sherer was selected as a candidate for the award in late January. Local VFW Post members read through nominations and picked three winners, one each for elementary, middle and high school, based on whom they thought best demonstrates true American patriotic ideals.
The VFW department of each state selects one teacher from the elementary, middle and high school levels to submit to the VFW national headquarters for the national award. The VFW department of Illinois selected Sherer as the elementary candidate.
"A lot of weight is given to those teachers who go the extra mile to educate students about freedom and the high price American military veterans pay to gain a free way of life," Shaver said.
The local VFW Post members held a banquet to congratulate Sherer and the other nominees on their selection. Sherer was presented with a certificate and $175 from the local VFW posts for her work.
"To be nominated, you have to go the extra mile to teach your students about veterans and what we are all about and why we foster a great love for a free America where people can live without fear of tyranny," Shaver said.
In the six-plus years that Sherer has been teaching, she has always worked to educate her students on the importance of respecting veterans.
For the past two years Sherer has been instrumental in planning a Veterans Day assembly at Liberty. With the help of Commander Shaver and Liberty music teacher Diane Speilman, Sherer has organized an event that she said has become a favorite for the students. Sherer plans to continue putting on the assembly for years to come.
Sherer also celebrates Veterans Day with her classes by having the students create a Veterans memorial wall. Each student colors a flag to represent each of the service members in their family.
She also had her friend, Sergeant First Class Amy Dickson, visit her classroom and talk about being a veteran and being in the military. She continued that tradition until last year, when Dickson was deployed to Iraq.
At the end of the school year, Sherer has her first grade students complete a "Heroes Project" as part of the Social Studies unit. The students make a poster of someone they consider their "hero" and present it to the class.
During the 2005-2006 school year, Sherer organized a program in the Liberty community to collect donations for Operation Gratitude, a not-for-profit organization that sends care packages and letters to U.S. troops deployed all over the world.
Sherer's family includes many service members, including her father, Lester, (Army), grandfathers (Army), three uncles (Army) and one cousin (Marines). She said her patriotism was fostered by her parents through years of attending parades and visiting historical sites around the country.
Sherer said the nomination and the VFW awards are humbling.
"I feel planning the Veterans Day assembly and doing things to communicate the importance of our veterans to the students at Liberty, is reward enough," Sherer said.