DAYTONA BEACH - Kristy Kuches, a 7^th grade math teacher from Heritage Middle School, is Volusia County Schools' Teacher of the Year for 2011.She will serve as Volusia County's Teacher of the Year throughout this school year and next, representing all of Volusia's teachers.

Mrs. Kuches received her award before an audience of more than 900 friends of public education at the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort on Friday, February 5, 2010.The announcement was made at a celebration co-hosted by FUTURES, Volusia County Schools education foundation, and the Daytona Beach Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Supporting and recognizing teachers is at the heart of FUTURES Foundation's mission, and we are excited to once gain partner with the Daytona Beach Regional Chamber, our presenting sponsor, Bright House Networks, and our numerous other corporate sponsors, to continue this annual celebration of Volusia County's hard-working and deserving teachers,' said Len Marinaccio, FUTURES President.

"Over the past 25 years, FUTURES has been able to provide much needed resources to teachers as a result of the generous support that we have received from corporate and individual members of our community.  Celebrating our teachers' accomplishments in such a visible way is very rewarding to all of us at the foundation."

Mrs. Kuches came to Volusia County Schools in 1993 as an elementary school teacher. She taught fifth grade at Discovery Elementary until 2000 and then moved to Forest Lake Elementary teaching fourth and fifth grades.In 2004, Mrs. Kuches moved to Osteen Elementary teaching fifth grade for two years and then serving as the math/science special area teacher for all grade levels.Mrs. Kuches then made the move to Heritage Middle where she has been teaching seventh grade math since 2007.  

Technology is an integral part of Mrs. Kuches' classroom.She maximizes student achievement by using Classroom Performance System (CPS) clickers, self-created PowerPoint lessons and a classroom website.The clickers engage every student in the lesson and give students immediate and anonymous feedback on their answers.Students feel like using them is a reward and they enjoy learning.The PowerPoint files are used daily in her classroom and students can easily reference them at home by accessing the classroom website (http://sites.google.com/site/mrskuches).In addition, the website contains weekly messages to parents, a weekly agenda of class work and homework, links to student textbooks and other helpful resources.   

Mrs. Kuches loves the challenge of students who struggle with math.She knows students must feel safe in order to ask questions, which is essential to learning.Students are rewarded with 'Kuches Kash' for asking questions or seeking help for themselves.Peer tutors are also used to engage students.Mrs. Kuches has found students work very hard to learn something so they can help someone else.And at the same time they hardly realize they are helping themselves.  

In a letter of recommendation, Principal Dennis Neal states Mrs. Kuches 'stands out above the rest by her talent, rapport with students, and unrelenting commitment to ensure all students reach their full potential.Mrs. Kuches epitomizes what an outstanding educator should strive to be.'

Described as enthusiastic and committed, Mrs. Kuches succeeds Kelly Conway, an Advanced Placement psychology and dance teacher from New Smyrna Beach High School, who was VolusiaCounty's 2010 Teacher of the Year.

In addition to Mrs. Kuches, four other teachers received special recognition as finalists:   

·Patti Lapinsky, reading and writing intervention teacher, Starke Elementary

·Mario D. Ochoa, Army ROTC teacher, Spruce Creek High

·Amy A. Ringue, reading and language arts teacher, Ormond Beach Middle

·Kathleen Weaver, agriscience teacher, Hinson Middle

The Teacher of the Year celebration, presented by Bright House Networks, was co-hosted by FUTURES Foundation and the Daytona Beach Regional Chamber of Commerce.Major sponsors included Daytona 500 Experience, Volusia Teachers Organization, Halifax Health, Bank of America, Brown&Brown, Florida Power & Light, Kennedy Space Center Federal Credit Union, University of CentralFlorida, NovaSoutheasternUniversity, Consolidated Tomoka and Diamond Suzuki.

More than 100 businesses and organizations in VolusiaCounty also contributed donations of goods and services to Volusia's Teacher of the Year program.