Flowery Elementary School third grade teacher Matt Pope has been named the 2017 ?“?Teacher of the Year?“? by Sonoma’s local Masonic Chapter of Free Mason’s - (Lodge #14 F.A.A.M.). Pope marched in the Fourth of July Parade and received a plaque and a small monetary award.
According to Mason Secretary Gustav Hobel, former Superintendent Louann Carlomagno and her staff supported the Lodge’s Teacher of the Year endeavor for many years. In 2015, the Lodge introduced a bilingual (English and Spanish) online survey accessible to all members, students and parents in the school district for nominations and comments. The survey is open each April, a month that the Grand Lodge dedicates to the support of Public Education.
The local Lodge’s education committee selects the honoree based on the comments submitted in the survey.
“We do our best to honor a teacher who inspires the students, gains their trust and sparks the quest for knowledge” said Hobel.
Matt Pope has been teaching at Flowery for 18 years.
He received a B.A. from University of Arizona in 1994 and spent almost three years in the Peace Corps in Honduras after college.
“The Peace Corps. was my first experience teaching ?environmental ?e?ducation and English,” he said. Pope received his preliminary teaching credential via his Peace Corps service. He later received his teaching credentials at Sonoma State.
“My favorite thing about teaching is that I am constantly learning new things,” he said. “I love that I am able to continue my education by means of serving children and their families. In addition to this, I get to start fresh every year. This enables me to refine, improve, and strengthen my craft. There are not a lot of jobs that offer that.”
Music in the classroom is a passion for Pope. He has been active part of the Little Kids Rock organization, which is a national organization (littlekidsrock.org) that helps restore music education in schools. “I have been volunteering with them since 2003,” he said.
Pope provides after school ukulele lessons to many interested students?.?
“I gathered some ukeleles for the students ?to use ?thanks to? donations from Kala Brand ukuleles in Petaluma?, where I live?,” he said.
Pope is an active participant in Flowery’s garden program and he also converted a small strip of land in front of his classroom to drought-resistant native plants as well as others that attract bees and butterflies.
Amber Williams of El Verano Elementary School won the ?Lodge’s Teacher of the Year ?award in 2016 and Sonia Castaneda of Adele Harrison was? ??honored in 2015.
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