DoDEA

Joyce Schenck Loyd

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA — April 26, 2004 — Joyce Loyd, our 2004 DoDEA Teacher of the Year, recently attended a reception at the White House on April 21 in honor of the 2004 State Teachers of the Year.

A 26-year teaching veteran, Mrs. Loyd currently leads the school math curriculum committee and the math section of the School Improvement Plan at the Andre Lucas Elementary School at Fort Campbell, KY, while teaching fifth grade reading, language arts, and math.

The purpose of the DoDEA Teacher of the Year program is to recognize and promote excellence in education. Teachers may be nominated by a peer, parent, or student. Nominees complete application packets, which are then submitted to the appropriate DoDEA District Office where a panel assembled by the District Superintendent selects the District Teacher of the Year. A second panel assembled at DoDEA Headquarters then selects the DoDEA Teacher of the Year from the candidates submitted by each district. The DoDEA Teacher of the Year competes for the title of the National Teacher of the Year.

Nominated teachers complete an application packet consisting of nine components including a professional biography, list of community involvement, a philosophy of teaching, an essay on the teaching profession and major public education issues, and a videotape presentation. Each component has a designated point value from 5 to 25, for a total of 130 points. Teacher selection is based upon an application's total point value.

In selecting Mrs. Loyd as the 2004 DoDEA Teacher of the Year, the panel cited her leadership efforts as teacher team leader in grades 2 through 6, school committee chairman for several school curriculum committees, and as a workshop presenter in all major subject areas to her colleagues at the school and district levels.

The panel also cited Mrs. Loyd's role in designing and implementing several innovative math programs including the Math Hall of Fame, which promotes learning key basic math facts among Pre-K through 5 th grade students, the Luke Loves Math and the Accelerated Math programs, both of which provide incentives for students based on performance, and Emily Estimations, which allows students to have fun providing estimations related to a six-foot bunny named Emily that visits their classroom.

Mrs. Loyd additionally designed and implemented Cosmo the Traveling Hare , a project that aims to help students in all subject areas and one she considers a great success. Students take Cosmo, a stuffed hare, on trips and collect data for creating math word problems, write brief descriptions about their trip, and give short oral presentations to their classmates.

In addition to her professional duties, Mrs. Loyd remains active throughout her community by involving herself in organizations that support the needs of children. She coordinates work for several major fundraisers including the Thor Johnson Scholarship Fund, Creating Original Opera program, Parent Teacher Organization, March of Dimes Walk-a-thon, and the Paralyzed Veterans of America. She additionally has held various leadership roles in Phi Delta Kappa, volunteers regularly at her church, and will be tutoring at-risk children this year.

Mrs. Loyd writes that although she believes she has accomplished a lot with creating programs that encompass all subject areas, she believes her greatest achievement "will always be the positive relationships I build with my students. It is because of these relationships that I am able to successfully teach my students, meet their diverse needs, and help them realize their individual worth and talents."

Andre Lucas Elementary School Principal, Dr. Brenda Hunter, agrees with Mrs. Loyd's self-assessment as an educator who continually seeks to build relationships with students and meets their needs to ensure academic success. Dr. Hunter writes of Mrs. Loyd, "Her enthusiasm, her innovativeness, and her genuine concern for her students are exemplary. Her flexibility in working with students, teachers, and parents has earned her an enviable reputation as an excellent teacher. She is a role model for other teachers."

Visit the DoDEA Teacher of the Year program page for additional information.