Norris and Dressback named Teachers of the Year
Two Vestavia Hills instructors, Dawn Norris and Lauren Dressback, have been named the 2016-17 elementary and secondary Teachers of the Year. Vestavia Hills City Schools recognized the teachers Tuesday, Dec. 8.
Norris, a guidance counselor at Vestavia Hills Elementary West according to a news release, is this year’s Elementary Teacher of the Year. Prior to arriving in Vestavia as a guidance counselor in 2007, Norris taught fourth through seventh grades at schools in El Paso, Texas. She is also a member of the school district's Drug Awareness Team and Student Assistance Team.
Dressback, according to the release, is a history teacher at Vestavia Hills High School and is this year’s Secondary Teacher of the Year. She has taught at several over-the-mountain schools, including in Homewood and Mountain Brook. Dressback began her career at Vestavia High in 2005. Since then, she served on the district's Strategic Planning Committee and leads small groups in the high school's innovative "Leading by Learning" program for teachers.
“We are so proud of these teachers and everything they do to move our students and our school system forward,” Dr. Sheila Phillips, Vestavia Hills City Schools superintendent, said according to the release. "Dawn, Lauren, and all of our Teachers of the Year are educators who understand our mission of 'learning without limits' and work to put our students first in all they do."
Both teachers, nominated for the award by their respective schools, now qualify for the Alabama Teacher of the Year competition, a title currently held by Vestavia Hills High School instructional coach Jennifer Brown. Other 2016-17 nominees, according to the release, included Suzanne Bonovitch (Vestavia Hills Elementary East), Vicki Cato (Louis Pizitz Middle School), Jennifer Isbell (Liberty Park Middle School), Nancy Portera (Vestavia Hills Elementary Liberty Park), Kristen Snable (Vestavia Hills Elementary Central), and Pam Walker (Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights).