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Hometown Heroes
Annehurst Elementary’s Finest First-ever recipient of 104.9 the River and Lindsay Honda’s Classroom Heroes award By Bre Offenberger
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atherine Monteiro never thought she would be a teacher – until she jumped right into it. Monteiro, a lawyer before her nowadult daughter Jessica was born, became a full-time mom to spend time with her family. So, when an opportunity to start volunteering at Jessica’s preschool opened up, she took it and fell in love. She moved her volunteering efforts to her daughter’s elementary school, St. Paul Catholic School, when Jessica moved out of preschool and her love for volunteering only grew. And, as it turns out, she was pretty good at it, too. One of her teachers soon asked Monteiro to become a teacher’s aide – a paid position – and she accepted. “I still loved it,” Monteiro says. “Then the principal at St. Paul, she encouraged me to get my teaching certification, and I did that. So far, I’m still happy.” A Big Surprise She has now worked at Annehurst Elementary School for the last seven years as a reading specialist, spending every day using her newfound teaching talent to help struggling readers. When she was called to the main hallway one Monday morning, she didn’t know what was coming. “I thought I was in trouble,” Monteiro says, laughing.
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Turns out, on March 18, 2019, she was walking into a crowd of applause and elation – all for her. She quickly found out she had won the first-ever 104.9 the River and Lindsay Honda’s Classroom Heroes award. It’s given out based on nominations, with the radio hosts urging listeners to call in and nominate teachers who have changed their or their child’s life for the better. Stacey Valentas noticed a positive difference in the way her son, Dylan, h a d a p p ro a c h e d r e a d i n g , t h a n k s t o t h e w a y M o n t e i ro t a u g h t a n d encouraged him for the four years she had worked with him. When she heard an announcement about the award on 104.9, she immediately thought of Monteiro and the impact she had on her son. www.westervillemagazine.com
