GREG JORDAN
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
PRINCETON —
A local teacher is among only five candidates from across the state being considered for the prestigious honor for West Virginia Teacher of the Year.
Aleta Jo Crotty, physical education teacher at Mercer and Straley elementary schools, has learned that she has been selected as one of the five teachers to be interviewed for the state honor. The Princeton teacher will go Aug. 13 to the State Department of Education in Charleston to meet with the selection committee.
“I am thrilled to be in the top five, to be in the company of those wonderful other teachers,” Crotty said.
Last June, Crotty learned during a surprise assembly at Mercer School that was the Mercer County Teacher of the Year for 2010–2011. Crotty was surprised by the announcement, but her colleagues said she is an excellent choice for county and state teacher of the year.
Principal Betty Atwood of Mercer Elementary School said Crotty’s ability to motivate students and staff to be active and make healthy choices as one of the reasons why she became the county’s new teacher of the year.
“Aleta Jo’s students absolutely love their physical education time, and she has written several grants that address staff wellness, healthy lifestyle behaviors, CPR training and nutrition,” Atwood said.
Crotty, an active member of the Mercer County Schools Wellness Council, has urged her students to take part in the CARDIAC Project.
“I encourage my kids to participate in that,” she said Thursday. “It’s something I promote in my school.”
School nurses check students’ height and weight and draw blood samples in order to evaluate any health risks they may be facing.
“It’s an intervention program that aims at identifying health risks at an early age,” Crotty said. “That’s done throughout the state.”
Finalists will be interviewed by a panel of judges. They are also expected to deliver a speech.
“It will more or less be my platform about what I would like to share with my colleagues and the public,” Crotty said. “One of the main things I’ve been promoting to my students for a long time is increasing physical activity and nutrition education. I want to guide them so they are prepared to have healthy, active lifestyles.”
