Left to right: Tracey White, assistant principal, Dr. Sheryl Mosley, principal, Micaela Ford, District Teacher of the Year, and Travis Tubbs, assistant Principal.
Congratulations to the District Teacher of the Year: Mrs. Micaela Ford. Mrs. Ford is currently a 6th-grade Advanced Science and 6th-7th-grade STEM teacher at Hardee Junior High School. Micaela is in her 14th year of teaching. She has taught multiple subjects and grades mostly in Science. Micaela is also a facilitator for the annual HJH Science Fair. She has served as the 6th grade science chair department lead. Micaela is also an AVID site team member, Odyssey of the Mind team coach, Capturing Kids Hearts Champion, and a member of the activities committee. Micaela received her Elementary Education degree from Warner University. Ford has been a big contributor to Hardee Junior High and has provided professional development training to colleagues and staff. She has also participated in the Back to Basics Technology Summer Training, where she focused on Kahoot, Focus Planner, and Kami. Outside of the regular school day, Micaela assists with coaching the Odyssey of the Mind Team which she helped co-found with Marth Smith, gifted teacher. Odyssey of the Mind Team is a creative problem-solving program involving students from kindergarten through college level. Team members work together at length to solve a predefined long-term problem and present their solution to the problem at a competition.
Micaela is also involved in various clubs, church activities, and other organizations such as Delta Kappa Gamma, District 12 Safe Children Coalition, State Certified Foster Parent and Guardian ad Litem, and Advocate for Children in Welfare. She also serves as a training co-founder. Micaela is also a member and volunteer at Calvary Baptist Church. She has also helped pilot the Focus Group Member for Families First App, this is the first app in our district used for communication between foster parents and case managers.
Micaela's philosophy is "Every child deserves a champion- an adult who will never give up on them. Who understands the power of connection, and insist that they become the best they can possibly be." -Rita Pierson