HES Educator Named Honored Teacher

Published November 9, 2021

A Heritage Elementary educator works hard to make sure her students are supported, and she's being recognized by a national organization, and an A-list celebrity, for her efforts.

HES first grade teacher Christina Woods is the November Honoree for Honored, a nonprofit organization dedicated to keeping great teachers in the classroom and inspiring a new generation to pursue teaching.

Honored recognizes a teacher each month who has made a positive impact on a student's life. Woods was nominated by Amanda Weight-McGary, the mother of Riley, who was Woods' student during the 2020-21 school year.

"I was shocked," Woods said. "I knew I had been nominated, but I figured there were hundreds of teachers, and I would never receive it. I'm honored that people feel I am doing a good job. I don't think I am doing anything out of the ordinary. I treat each class, each child, each parent the same way I hope my two boys' teachers will treat them as students and my husband and I as their parents."

According to her mother, Riley's reading skills improved greatly because of Woods' teaching. Woods also noticed Riley acting differently in class during the year, and she helped Riley return to her normal, joyful disposition. Woods puts this kind of care and dedication into all of her teaching.

"I plan to just keep doing what I've always done," said Woods. "I see the whole child, set high expectations and work hard to meet them. This recognition has given me an added boost of energy to keep me working day in and day out."

As the November Honoree, Woods received $5,000 and an additional $1,000 gift card to help other teachers. On top of that, actress Jennifer Garner gave Woods a shout-out. Last week, Garner commended Woods for her work in the classroom through an Instagram post.