Being a teacher is a difficult and often thankless job, but Forney resident Whitney Rozell recently received much deserved praise for being a great teacher. Rozell teaches fourth grade at Porter Elementary School in Mesquite. The Dallas Mavericks and the UPS Store honored Rozell as part of their 9th annual Teacher Recognition Program.
Being a teacher is a difficult and often thankless job, but Forney resident Whitney Rozell recently received much deserved praise for being a great teacher. Rozell teaches fourth grade at Porter Elementary School in Mesquite. The Dallas Mavericks and the UPS Store honored Rozell as part of their 9th annual Teacher Recognition Program.
On April 10, Rozell and nine other North Texas teachers were recognized at half-time of the Mavericks vs Suns game. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and representatives from the UPS Store joined the teachers on the court. Each of the 10 teachers that won the Teacher Recognition award received two tickets to the Mavs game and $1,000 for themselves, as well as $1,000 for their school.
According to the Mavericks organization, the program was “created to recognize North Texas educators for their work and positive impact in the classroom.” Rozell, who is married to Forney Mayor Darren Rozell, was nominated for the award by her principal, Becky Rosco. Rozell has been teaching for two years at Porter Elementary and has been with Mesquite ISD since 2007 when she was hired as a special education paraprofessional at McKenzie Elementary. She is currently enrolled in the Mesquite Cohort Masters Program.
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The Porter Elementary principal wrote this in her nomination of Whitney Rozell, “Mrs. Rozell is a dedicated, caring teacher. She can be found at the school early in the morning to late in the evenings and on weekends...She views each student as an individual and makes a connection with each child on a personal level.” She elaborated, “Her kids strive to do their very best to please her, because they love her and want her to be proud of them.” She also described Mrs. Rozell as an “outside the box thinker.”
Rozell acknowledges her deep “love for teaching” and for making a difference, “I truly have a love for children and seeing them succeed. I must admit it is my students who keep me grounded. They make me smile, laugh, and cry sometimes.” So how did she feel when she found out she had won the award? “I was speechless when I found out. I was excited, elated, but at the same time I felt there were so many other deserving teachers out there. I'm appreciative of the recognition though and I am really excited to have that kind of honor given to me.”
