Teachers and Staff
We love our Jefferson-Houston teachers and staff members, and we're proud to support them. This page lists just some of the ways we show our appreciation.
Congratulations to two of our amazing J-H Teachers!
2021-22
JH PTA Teacher of the Year
Mrs. Kendra Button
2020-21
JH PTA Teacher of Promise
Mr. Curtis Murray
Our J-H PTA Teacher of the Year is Mrs. Kendfra Button, one of our 2nd grade teachers. In the words of a J-H parent, “She is the best teacher I know. Knows her students and challenges them. When I need advice or to ask questions, one of the first people I go to is Kendra!”
Our J-H PTA Teacher of Promise award is for a first-year teacher at Jefferson-Houston, and this year it goes to Mr. Curtis Murray! In the words of a J-H parent, “Mr. Murray has been wonderful at helping our son adjust to in-person school after a year of virtual instruction and addressing social-emotional needs as well as academics. He has made school challenging, interesting and fun and is very responsive to parents' concerns. He always has a crowd of students around him eager to say good-bye when he leaves the building for the day.”
Thank you to all of the parents who nominated teachers this spring! We had so many amazing teachers to consider, and we truly appreciate all of our J-H teachers! They make J-H a wonderful place where kids love to learn! Thank you to each one of our JH teachers, admin, and staff!
Previous Teacher Awards
2019-2020
JH PTA Teacher of the Year
Charles Roth, Band
2019-2020
JH PTA Teacher of Promise
Alex Rotruck, P.E.
The Rejuvenator
The Rejuvenator Cart is a big hit with our teachers! Every few weeks (pre-pandemic), one of our dedicated parents would load up the Rejuvenator with snacks and drinks to hand out to our hardworking teachers. Students helped decorate the cart and were happy to notify their teachers when it would be coming around. This year during Virtual + school, the PTA hopes to still be able to "rejuvenate" in one way or another, but you can be certain that when students are back in the building, the Rejuvenator will sail again! If you want to donate to this effort, please use our Venmo or PayPal links and note "Rejuvenator". One hundred dollars sponsors a fully-loaded cart (and gets your name or business name on the cart's signage), but any donation helps tremendously!
The PTA also traditionally sponsors a Welcome Breakfast at the beginning of the year and provides dinners on Parent-Teacher Conference nights for our teachers. We've even been known to set up the occasional Trail Mix Bar or to bring teachers ice cream treats after school!
Grants and Computer Monitors
The JH PTA is proud to offer Teacher Grants. If you're a teacher, you can download the grant request form here. We prioritize requests that will be used to enhance and support classroom instruction and student engagement. In 2019-2020, the PTA approved grants for vocabulary journals, software subscriptions, shin guards, books, fidget toys, music for the band, and more! Email the PTA Treasurer at treasurer.jh.pta@gmail.com for more information. To donate to this program, please use our Venmo or PayPal links and note "Teacher Grants".
During Virtual+ learning in 2020-21, the PTA has been working to provide additional computer monitors for teachers who would like one. We've provided over 20 extra monitors to JH teachers so far! If you're a teacher and you'd like to add your name to the list for a monitor, please fill out this Google Doc request form, and we'll let you know when we have one available for you to pick up. If you have a working monitor, a power strip, or cords to donate, please contact us at pta.jeffersonhouston@gmail.com