Boston's Luisa Sparrow named Massachusetts Teacher of the Year
BOSTON - Massachusetts has a new teacher of the year - Luisa Sparrow. Sparrow teaches fifth and sixth graders with intellectual disabilities at the Oliver Hazard Perry School in Boston.
Luisa Sparrow
Sparrow, known to her students as "Ms. S," was chosen from roughly 80,000 teachers in 1,800 public schools across Massachusetts. She'll get $10,000 to use in her classroom for earning the state's highest teaching award.
"I'm really, really honored to be selected," Sparrow told reporters at Wednesday's announcement.
Sparrow has been teaching for 16 years across various states and even countries. She began in general education but soon found a passion for helping students with intellectual disabilities.
"There's so much room to work on academics with students and then also work on their living skills," Sparrow said. "I just find that really exciting to focus on students as whole people."
She's known for bringing education outside of the classroom, taking her students on two field trips a month.
"She is always determined to help every single one of her students get as much joy, experience and learning out of every moment possible," said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
"A wonderful teacher"
Sparrow's students describe her as the "best teacher ever."
"Ms. S is a wonderful teacher," said Emmanual, one of her students. "When I met her at my first school, she was super nice."
For the next year, Spartow will serve as a liaison to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and as a representative for teachers all over Massachusetts. She said she will confer with her principal and other teachers at her school to decide how to best use her $10,000 prize.
