Sidney Lanier teacher Monica Benson named Alachua County Teacher of the Year

Left to right: The Education Foundation Executive Director Tia Brock-Paul, Monica Benson, and Superintendent Dr. Kamela Patton

Press release from Alachua County Public Schools

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – While working toward her master’s degree in education at the University of Florida, Alachua County Public Schools’ new Teacher of the Year Monica Benson requested an internship at Sidney Lanier School, which serves students with significant disabilities. She says her choice surprised people. 

“I’ll never forget the response and the facial expressions I received,” she said. “But once I started working with our student population, I could never imagine myself anywhere else.”

Ten years later, Benson is still at Lanier. Although most of her current students are high schoolers, she works with students of all ages and with a wide variety of needs, including those with significant emotional and behavioral disorders. 

“It takes a special person to love, teach, care, and advocate for students with profound disabilities,” said Lanier Principal Dr. Buddy Kamman, who has worked with Benson for nine years. “Monica is one of those rare people who is not only a fantastic teacher but is a kind soul who is a master at being a special educator.”

Benson was among forty teachers, one from each of the district’s schools, who were honored last night at the annual Robert W. Hughes Teacher of the Year celebration, which is named after the former Superintendent who established the recognition program. Hundreds of fellow teachers, school and district staff members, students, parents, business representatives, and other community members attended the event, which was hosted by The Education Foundation for Alachua County Public Schools. 

“It’s an honor for The Foundation to host this event,” said Executive Director Tia Brock-Paul. “We are committed to recognizing Alachua County’s teachers and uplifting the entire teaching profession.”  

Each of the forty honorees received a $500 check and gifts provided by many sponsors throughout the county, including premier sponsors Florida Credit Union, SWI Photography, and Cox Communications. 

“It was such a wonderful celebration,” said Superintendent Dr. Kamela Patton, who joined the district in November and attended the Teacher of the Year event for the first time. “I’m so impressed by the outpouring of support from the community for our honorees and the many other outstanding teachers they represent.”

Also receiving special recognition at the celebration were elementary-school finalist Vanessa Lind, a second-grade teacher at Glen Springs Elementary School, and middle-school finalist Natalie Watkins, a 7th-grade math teacher at Ft. Clarke Middle School.

During her remarks at the event, Benson commented on the fact that the mascot for Sidney Lanier School is a unicorn.

“I learned from a very wise principal that a group of unicorns is called a ‘blessing,’” she said. “Our students are the biggest blessing in my life.”

Benson will now go on to represent Alachua County Public Schools in the Florida Teacher of the Year program.

Teacher of the Year finalist Vanessa Lind speaks during the event
Teacher of the Year Monica Benson speaks during the event
Finalist Natalie Watkins speaks during the event
Natalie Watkins shakes hands with Superintendent Patton
Vanessa Lind shakes hands with Superintendent Patton
  • Congratulations! Looks like a couple commenters were wrong.
    Let’s see if they nut-up and admit it.

    • Hopefully they’ll give all the teachers an equitable offering.
      Call it embarrassing or sad that the SBAC and Superintendent who preach and proclaim equity are so reluctant, and at most times unwilling to provide an equitable wage to those who are doing the work in the trenches.
      Either the majority of employees don’t check the right boxes or the SBAC and it’s handpicked leaders are nothing more than overpaid hypocrites.

  • Gee, if the darker candidate had won, we’d have 30 comments, not 3, all of them denouncing DEI and blacks. Fortunately we won’t have that at the federal level anymore, what with the best and brightest meritocracy can deliver embodied in people like Pete Hesgeth.

    • Correctamundo! Those comments were originally posted at the original announcement a couple days ago.
      I already called them out but they haven’t manned up yet.

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