At a recent Educational Excellence Dinner, Chonda Hicks was named Paris Independent School District Primary School Teacher of the Year and Amanda Laloux was named Paris Independent School District’s Best Secondary Teacher of the Year. Both will represent the Paris ISD in the 2023 Regional Education Service Center VIII Teacher of the Year competition.
Hicks holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Education and earned certification in early childhood as a senior in the School of Commerce at Texas A&M University. She started her teaching path at Paris ISD in 2006 and has been her 4th grade teacher at Justice Elementary School.
She started teaching 3rd grade in the same room she was in 3rd grade at Justice Elementary School. After teaching her junior year, Hicks was given the opportunity to self-contain teaching her first year Gifted and Talent her classes. After two years of first grade, she landed her current position as a fourth grade teacher.
Hicks is dedicated to his students and his school. She has high expectations of her students and is one of their greatest advocates. She shows grace to her students and believes that each day is a new opportunity for them to be better than the day before.
LaRue holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the Texas A&M University School of Commerce. She started her work at the Paris ISD as a paraprofessional in 2009 and now she teaches Algebra 1 at Paris High School.
Lalou has 10 years of teaching experience, 8 of which she spent at Paris High School. Mr. Larue has been head of the mathematics department for seven years.
She started her career in the education industry as an administrator before moving into a paraprofessional role and working in the field of content mastery for five years. She takes great pride in her time spent as a paraprofessional, which has helped her understand not only what it takes to educate people, but her life in general. she believes.
Lalou believes in the importance of mistakes. Students are encouraged to spot their own mistakes, their colleagues’ mistakes, and their teachers’ mistakes. Recognizing, reinforcing, correcting and rewarding students when they make mistakes has transformed LaRue’s classroom over the years.
https://theparisnews.com/news/paris-independent-school-district-names-teachers-of-the-year/article_cee72226-f40e-11ed-b1e8-57ea53dff078.html Paris Independent School District Names Teacher of the Year | News
