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Jill Pace from the Cortland City School District is another Apple for the Teacher Award recipient nominated by Kathryn Reynolds.
To the Committee:
When I think of exemplary teachers in the Cortland City School District, I think of Jill Pace. Jill has been teaching in the Cortland District for many years. She has primarily taught seventh grade Home and Career Skill classes but recently has spent much of her focus on Senior High electives including a college credit personal health course, Child Development and Parenting classes.
Jill Pace is a prime example of teaching excellence and commitment to the classroom. She is a tireless educator who spends hours researching, planning and creating engaging lessons to motivate her students. She strives to find tasks that bring the content to a practical application level in the everyday lives of Cortland kids. Jill is enthusiastic about her content and brings that enthusiasm to her class on a daily basis. Her lessons are functional and hands-on, and it is not uncommon to hear of guest speakers addressing the students of her programs.
In addition to her commitment to her classroom, Jill serves the district as the curriculum coordinator for her curriculum area. She overseas planning and scheduling as well as supporting the staff within her department. She arranges for staff development and training for not only members of her department but across departments as well. She serves on multiple committees within the district. When she sees and issue, she is first to stand up and volunteer to work toward a solution.
When not in a Cortland classroom, Jill can often be found on the TC3 or SUNY Cortland campuses instructing college level students in order to prepare them for careers in education or health fields. She is energized by the experience and uses her new found energy and thinking to enrich her classroom in the Cortland High School.
Jill spearheads the school initiative on character education and is a constant champion for student rights and respect for others. In order to promote community service in her students, Jill has volunteered to coordinate the Virginia Tech “Power of Ten” initiative. This project was created as the Cortland High School branch of a SUNY Cortland project to memorialize the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting. It encourages students to volunteer for community service projects in order to log a total of 10,000 hours in total. Last Spring Jill was instrumental in bringing Derrick Coleman to the Cortland High School to award national recognition for the district's dedication to their "Get Fit By Finals" Program sponsored by the National Dairy Association. These are only some examples of Jill’s commitment to her community. She has volunteered for PTO projects in her children’s school (FE Smith Elementary); she supports the Cortland Strings program and regularly assists with fund raisers and projects. She has volunteered for community groups such as the Cortland Memorial Hospital Aid and Red Cross as well.
Jill is a living example of her commitment to health. Her personal passion is exercise. She is a runner and fitness trainer. She is a trained spinning instructor and regularly leads fitness classes for the Cortland Fitness Center and Cortland County Teacher Center. Jill is a committed mother and wife and demonstrates her commitment through her fine examples.
I can think of no better nominee for the Apple for the Teacher Award than Jill Deuink Pace.
Kathryn M. Reynolds
Speech Language Pathologist
Cortland City Schools
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