Jim Cote – Employee of the Year, STEM Academy

At the Sandwich Public Schools’s Opening Convocation on September 2,  Gil Newton, Director of the STEM Academy,  announced the First Ever STEM Academy 2015 Employee of the Year with the following remarks:

One of the hallmarks of the STEM Academy was to create an innovative success experience for every student. Nationwide STEM programs often focus on high achieving students in the sciences and mathematics. In Sandwich, we have redefined STEM as Strategies That Engage Minds, and our first ever teacher of the year has certainly done that.

Referring to this gentleman his colleagues describe him as “compassionate, dedicated, and fully engaged in helping each and every student find success.” One teacher wrote that “I have known him for many years and he consistently treats all of his students with respect and caring and makes them all feel welcome to our school every day.” Another wrote that “he is the ultimate professional whose focus is always on helping our kids.”

I can also state that in every aspect of our daily lives in the STEM Academy, this teacher provided wisdom, support, and encouragement as we went from one challenge to another. We are truly a problem solving school.

This teacher believes that every student is special, that every student has potential and that every student can find success.

And so it is with great joy that I present the STEM Academy’s first teacher of the year award to Jim Cote.