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Former BRI Council Member Named Teacher of the Year

AS
by Ally Silva on

<p>An Ohio teacher and former Bill of Rights Institute Teacher Council member was named Secondary Teacher of the Year at the annual National Council for the Social Studies conference in Philadelphia earlier this month.</p>

<p>Kimberly Huffman, who teaches civics, government, social studies, and economics at Wayne County Joint Vocational School in Smithville, Ohio, believes her “passion, dedication, and enthusiasm for civics education has allowed me opportunities to collaborate with civic educators across the nation to enhance the meaning and appreciation of the United States Constitution,” she said.</p>

<p>Huffman served on the BRI Teacher Council in 2020-21 and is a member of the Wayne County (Ohio) Historical Society, the Ohio and National Councils for Social Studies Educators, the Ohio Education Association, and the Wayne County Joint Vocational School Education Association.</p>

<p>Huffman said “various and diverse learning methods are used in my lesson designs and implementation,” and added she frequently uses BRI’s primary documents in her class “to allow students the opportunity to interpret and formulate independent ideas.”</p>

<p>Huffman also believes her experience with a diverse student population is an asset in providing feedback on best teaching practices.</p>

<p>“For over 20 years, I have proudly served students at the Wayne County Schools Career Center, where students from 10 surrounding districts decide to apply to complete their requirements for graduation,” Huffman said.</p>

<p>Theresa Morgan, Social Studies Department Chairperson at the Wayne County Schools Career Center, said Huffman also tutors students and is a student leadership council advisor.</p>

<p>“As a classroom teacher, Kimberly is very engaging with her students as she strives to bring the Constitution and Bill of Rights alive,” Morgan said. “She works very hard in helping them understand how these documents affect their daily lives.</p>

<p>“[Huffman] takes advantage of every opportunity to learn new strategies and techniques so that she can use them to present this curriculum in a new and vibrant way,” Morgan said.</p>