The San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) and Cox Communications collaborated to surprise the 2024-25 San Diego County Teachers of the Year in their classrooms or as part of an assembly as part of the 34th annual Cox Presents: Salute to Teachers program.

Kristen LoPrell, Grossmont High School, Grossmont Union High School District

Students often come to Kristen LoPrell dreading math class and leave with a new appreciation for the subject.

In fact, last year’s salutatorian thanked LoPrell in her graduation speech saying that she helped her love math and is now considering majoring in it. She’s able to boost their confidence with numbers through community building and personal connections. In her classroom, the desks face each other so students can work together to solve problems in teams that are randomly selected each day.

“No one is alone in our math community,” she said.

LoPrell supports the Gender and Sexuality Alliance and Academic League at her school. She also serves as the freshman orientation coordinator, training older students to mentor incoming freshmen. She works to ensure that all students feel safe in her classroom so they feel comfortable taking risks in their thinking as they practice arithmetic using real-life examples.

“I firmly believe that it is our job as math educators to create classrooms filled with joy where student thinking is celebrated equal to the teachers,” she explained.

Links

website = https://www.salutetoteacherssd.com

Sponsors of Cox Presents: Salute to Teachers included presenting sponsor -

SDCCU = https://www.sdccu.com

Murray Lampert Design, Build, Remodel = https://murraylampert.com/?gad_source...

Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation = https://sctca.net/sycuan-band-of-the-...

University of San Diego = https://www.sandiego.edu

Procopio = https://www.procopio.com

iHeart Radio = https://www.iheart.com

The Mightier 1090 = https://www.themightier1090.com

The San Diego Union-Tribune = https://www.google.com/search?client=...