Excellent Educators is a WAVY-TV 10 initiative to celebrate local teachers who have gone above and beyond for their students and communities during the coronavirus pandemic. These Excellent Educators were nominated by their school divisions. Congratulations to these educators for all of their hard work and accomplishments!
Name: Andrew Katz
Division: Norfolk Public Schools
Position: Fourth grade teacher at Willard Model Elementary School
What the school division said about this Excellent Educator: During the coronavirus pandemic, Andrew Katz has been creative with assignments that were normally completed on paper and in small groups. He has found ways to create assignments with various online platforms, such as Teacher Made, ReadWorks, Google Slides, SMART and Nearpod technologies, Jam Board, and utilizing Canvas for delivering all content in a smooth and concise way.
Trying to have the students work together and independently is still a challenge given the circumstances, but thanks to the ITRTs and Katz’s fourth grade team, they are always finding creative and fun ways for continued and meaningful engagement.
Daily communication with both parents and students about changes in the schedule, classwork and homework assignments, and important district and school announcements has really helped to keep everyone on the same page. Keeping everyone in the loop was, and still is vital to keeping a solid foundation of trust and reliance for Katz’s classroom.
