Lorrie Weaver Receives 2019 RFK Urban Education Award
Jasmine Otero, Holly Sparks, and Dasha Thomas.
Congratulations to our very own Lorrie Weaver, Special Education Teacher, on her 2019 RFK Urban Education Award!
Each year, in honor of Robert F. Kennedy’s legacy, and in partnership with Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Schools That Can presents the annual Robert F. Kennedy Urban Education Awards to an individual school leader, teacher, and student from urban schools located all over the United States.
Awardees embody Kennedy’s characteristics by speaking truth to power and acting as agents of positive change, as inspired by his quote:
“Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world which yields most painfully to change.”
“This award honors my current students and all students I have taught in the past twenty years,” stated Weaver in her award acceptance speech. “I have never taught in a classroom alone and I could not be successful with students without the support of my other special educators, paraprofessionals, speech therapists, occupational therapists, and general educator’s support. It takes a team, but the students I teach CAN be successful. It may not be in the same way or on the same day, it may cost more and take more resources, but they can and will succeed if you see students for their ability rather than their disability.”
With a career in special education spanning two decades, Weaver is a veteran teacher. She’s committed to working with students facing significant challenges, and she approaches her work with passion and empathy.
“We are grateful for Lorrie’s recognition with this prestigious and well-deserved award,” stated Graig Weiss, Foundation Academies CEO. “Our staff and students see her passion and commitment on a daily basis, and it’s wonderful that Schools That Can, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, and a nationwide urban education community now recognizes her too. Foundation Academies is very proud!”
The 2019 award winners were announced on Wednesday, May 1, during Schools That Can’s 6th Annual National Forum: Advancing Culturally Relevant Real-World Learning at the Robert Treat Center in Newark. The awards were presented by Cara Kennedy Cuomo.
Congratulations again! Everyone at Foundation Academies is so proud of you, Lorrie!
Michelle Lawlor, Marketing and Communications Associate, spearheads Foundation Academies’ marketing and communication efforts. Born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey, Michelle holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism/Multimedia Communications from Rider University.