Established in 1988, the R.E.B. Awards for Teaching Excellence recognizes public school teachers who distinguish themselves by their inspiring classroom performance. The program is based on the belief that a positive educational experience at the elementary, middle, and high school levels helps children form positive life-long habits toward learning and discipline.
“As an educator, I provide my students with knowledge that transcends textbooks,” said NaKita Lee, Social Studies Department. “As such, I will take a transformative trip to Ghana and Alabama to draw a cyclical connection between freedom and independence. This connection is illuminated by the stories associated with both, as Ghana was a central hub for the transatlantic slave trade, and the Clotilda, discovered underwater in Alabama in 2018, was the last known U.S. slave ship to bring enslaved Africans to America after the slave trade had legally ended. I will continue my professional development by visiting sites in Ghana, like the Assin Manso Slave River (where enslaved Africans took their “last bath”), and the Door of No Return. I will also visit Africatown in Mobile, Alabama, a small town (that still exists today) formed by 32 of the West Africans who were brought over illegally on the Clotilda.”
Through a nomination process, approximately 15 outstanding teachers are selected each year to receive cash grants to support professional development activities. Award recipients have earned graduate degrees, climbed mountains, traced their ancestors and met peers from around the world – all to reignite their own passion for learning and to pass it on to their students. To learn more about the nomination process, please visit Scholarships & Awards on the Community Foundation website.
