To be named a Teacher of the Year in your hometown is an enormous honor. Being certainly one of 5 finalists for the National Teacher of the Year award is an entire new stage of status. Jermar Rountree of Center City Public Charter- Brightwood Campus is aware of what that seems like. The Washington, D.C. Teacher of the Year for 2023 was named certainly one of 5 finalists for this yr’s nationwide award. What might shock you is the person identified affectionately as “Coach” is a bodily schooling trainer. He’s the primary PE trainer in seven a long time to be nominated for the distinction.
“It’s an incredible situation,” stated Rountree. “I literally had no idea about the first one, but to then get one of the five final spots for the national one is an amazing feeling.”
Rountree works with a variety of 260 to 280 kindergarten via eighth grade college students yearly. For a lot of them, he’s greater than merely a trainer – he serves as a mentor. Rountree isn’t simply conscious of that – he’s appreciative of the chance as a result of he is aware of first-hand what having a mentor can do for a child.
“Every year I look at students and see myself in a bunch of shoes. I can look at them and go ‘I was you.’ It makes talking to students that much easier.”
Rountree is the grandson of a World War II veteran. He grew up with a household that moved rather a lot. He shared that he went to eight completely different elementary faculties as a child. One oblique facet impact of that upbringing is that he didn’t join with too many academics, however he did make buddies shortly with different college students.
“I developed this ability to make friends fast, but I also had an attitude toward teachers that I knew I wasn’t going to be there very long.”
Rountree didn’t have a look at his academics the way in which that a few of his college students might have a look at him. That is, till he met Darryl Parker, a substitute trainer within the Waterbay Public School system that was filling in for a day.
“He changed the way that I look at things, and I shifted,” he remembered. “Every time I saw him, he would check in. Those check-ins made me feel better about being in school.”
Rountree embraced being at school, no matter whichever one he moved to. As he grew up, he performed sports activities in center college and highschool. His two favorites have been basketball and soccer, and he was recruited by Penn State University at one level, however his grades weren’t excessive sufficient for him to maneuver on to that stage.
“I ended up going to a community college for about a year and a half with the idea of going to play football.”
Football might have been on his thoughts, however future would have a unique course for Rountree – regulation enforcement. After agreeing to go together with a roommate to take a check for regulation enforcement, Rountree truly handed, however his roommate didn’t. After contemplating the chance, Rountree opted to maneuver ahead with coaching to develop into a corrections officer, even whereas nonetheless working towards his diploma in historical past.
“I ended up getting it and graduated in a class of 255, and I wound up being a corrections officer. It wasn’t my dream at all. I was just helping my roommate.”
Sleep was a valuable commodity for Rountree at this stage of his life. He would go to high school at evening whereas stationed at a stage IV most safety jail in Bridgeport, CT. While he was there, he labored off a fundamental system with the inmates – give respect, get respect. He made probably the most out of the times he labored there by following that creed, however one 18-year-old inmate stood out to him as a result of he requested Rountree to learn a letter that he couldn’t learn himself.
“In that situation, I asked myself ‘how could I prevent that?’ I was going to school for that reason – to educate our young black men and children of all colors, but particularly young black men so they didn’t end up in a place like this.”
Like Darryl Parker was a mentor and guiding gentle for Rountree, he wished to develop into the identical for the kids of a brand new technology. After receiving his diploma, he wasted no time attempting to make a distinction. While he was in Connecticut, he began enterprise known as “Physical Education and Nutrition Training.” His focus was instructing individuals in preschools and day care facilities how they may educate P.E. to their kids.
“I gave them tools, I created this whole curriculum, so teachers had what they needed to teach kids in that age range how to be fit, value nutrition, and how to interact.”
Rountree additionally ran bootcamps with households at one other college he labored at within the D.C. space. They would meet on the National Mall and participate in exercises. He additionally labored with distributors and organizations so they may participate and provides the households extra to take house with them. He was doing greater than coaching individuals. “Coach” was doing simply that, teaching children and oldsters to be energetic members of a group.
“This year, I’m working with my students in my elective class. They will be running stations and tables, creating mini workout lessons for families to try out at an event.”
The winner of the National Teacher of the Year award is anticipated to be introduced in the course of April 2023. Whether he wins it or not, the Washington D.C. Teacher of the Year award winner has clearly went above and past to make a generational distinction in his space. Whether it’s along with his day job, private coaching, teaching, and even doing bike rides, his objective is to make an impression on children and households, simply as Mr. Parker did for him.
“I try to provide as much as I can to families and our kids.”
You can join with Jermar Rountree on Linkedin.