Tiffany Perry Named Osceola School District’s Teacher of the Year  

Ms. Tiffany Perry, Fifth Grade Teacher at East Lake Elementary, has been named as Osceola County’s 2024 Teacher of the Year. She stands out among other amazing educators because of her ability to connect with learners in remarkable ways.  She has made it her mission to get to know her students well and to communicate with them on a deeper level in a safe environment, where they are encouraged to be authentic and show their uniqueness.    

“Every day, I feel energized by my students’ curiosity, and I am inspired by the risks they’re willing to take to grow as humans,” said Perry. “My biggest realization has been that it is not my job to have all the answers, but to get out of my students’ way. They are capable of so many things and have such unique perspectives.  If I can show them how to be flexible and how to find resources, they will leave my classroom with so much more than memorized facts. It is my responsibility to give them chances to feel successful and to help them understand that they don’t have to change who they are to make that happen.” 

As her preference in the classroom is for students to talk more than she does, Ms. Perry has successfully implemented Socratic Seminars to improve writing, thereby having students ask and answer questions together using critical thinking and examining different points of view. She has implemented Hour of Code and learned how to tie coding to problem-solving strategies. She has also taught her students more about the engineering design process by working with them to code robots to follow a path. She is currently applying for East Lake Elementary to become the first Everglades Champion School in the Osceola School District so students can learn about Florida’s ecosystem, which provides the daily water supply for 9 million residents, contributes billions of dollars to Florida’s economy, and provides recreational and educational opportunities for millions of visitors from all over the world.

“My students come to me with already shaped puzzle pieces, but they don’t always know how those pieces fit together,” said Perry.  “I see it as my responsibility to show them that learning is not about changing who you are and reshaping your puzzle pieces, but rather seeing the bigger picture and the possibilities of where those pieces could fit. It is my job to empower them to fully embrace who they are and connect that to what we do in the classroom.”

While focusing on students, she also serves as her school’s grade-level chairman, models lessons for other teachers, trains teachers on various strategies and tools, and presents her team’s approach to interventions for students to the entire staff. At the district level, she has been able to share her knowledge and support with new educators.

“Ms. Perry provides students opportunities to figure out who they are as learners and as people,” said Osceola School District Superintendent Dr. Debra Pace. “They may not remember every lesson she teaches, but they know without a doubt that they can be successful in school, and that she will always be there to cheer them on.”