Laura Blake, our school’s resource teacher, earned this year’s distinguished title of ACE Teacher of the Year.
Students love her because she is nice and welcoming to all. She’s very mindful and always wants to help students destress, so she often teaches yoga and encourages mindfulness activities during flex time.
Laura has sacrificed a lot to be here and to be a good teacher. She revealed that she actually didn’t want to be a teacher at first because both her parents were teachers. She knew she had to get a job though so that’s what she did when she became a writer and worked for the Department of Environmental Protection until her whole department got laid off.
Laura decided to join an organization and teach english. Laura used to teach at Danbury high school for 10 years after teaching there she knew she needed a switch and she picked us ACE.
“It took another 3 years and I had to give up my car and my dog to go back and finish school.”
Laura has had many great experiences and moments while teaching. She wanted to be part of our program to help not only students but also to grow herself.
Her fellow teacher, Melissa Lasky, has cotaught with Laura in the past and has been a colleague of hers for 12 years. She says, “Laura is an inspiration to us as a staff in addition to her students. Her passion is evident in the energy she puts into her classes and the way she works with students in and outside of the classroom. She makes lessons relevant and exciting, and she advocates for students to get and do what they need to be their best selves.”
Laura believes “Teaching is about helping students learn and grow, but also I hope that it is about learning from them. “Being a teacher is not always easy and it certainly makes me cry more than I would like but it is also incredibly rewarding.”
Students all agree that Laura is a wonderful teacher, human being, and an amazing mom. She is dedicated to the ones she loves and has worked very hard for everything in her life. She teaches her students to embrace qualities of hard work, dedication, and kindness, and for that, she is the 2025 ACE TEACHER OF THE YEAR.!!
