Last month, Honors Algebra II and Statistics teacher Elizabeth LeBoeuf won the Wayne A. Reaud Excellence in Education Award. This honor is given to teachers who are dedicated, inspiring, committed, professional, and supportive along with a plethora of other admirable attributes. According to the award website, Wayne A. Reaud Excellence in Education Award was created to celebrate and recognize superior contributions of teachers whose leadership and dedication inspire a spirit of learning in students of all backgrounds and abilities. 

“When I found out I won this award, I was shocked,” LeBoeuf said. “I knew there was a lot of competition, so I wasn’t really expecting to win. I found out a week before the school did, so I was able to tell my family and celebrate with them before the news spread. Yet, when it was announced I was overwhelmed by the amount of support and congratulations I received.” 

Nominees are required to go through an extensive application process. This process includes writing several essays, filling out forms, and acquiring recommendation letters from a principal or administrator, student, parent of a student, and teacher colleague. Each Award Recipient is honored at an awards gala and receives a crystal obelisk, a portrait and $10,000. 

“The application process was exhausting,” LeBoeuf said. “I thought about it every day for six weeks-from mid-December, when Mr. Dubose told me I had been nominated, until the end of January when everything was due. During the application process I had to write two one-page essays – Why did you become a teacher and what does teaching mean to you, and my favorite quote or motto. I also had to get four letters of support – administrator, colleague, student, and parent of a student, along with a letter from one of the members of the nomination committee. I was able to include two pages of supplemental material including a letter of support from a photographer who helps me with seniors who need graduation pictures, along with a page of articles from various events and activities I have been involved in. Updating my resume and completing the information packet was the easiest part of the process. The Beaumont Foundation of America is very precise about the application process, so I was very paranoid about something being wrong. I was nauseous when I turned it in, but as soon as I handed over my packet, I was relieved that it was finally complete.” 

LeBoeuf has been teaching for a total of 20 years and has taught at many schools from around the area. She began teaching in 2003 at West Orange-Stark and taught there for four years. She then taught at Orangefield for five years and in Beaumont for three years, before landing at LCM in 2015. She has since taught math at the high school for eight years. 

“I started teaching because of my teachers, Mrs. Bishop and Mr. Hoke,” LeBoeuf said. “Mrs. Bishop taught me math in 7th and 8th grade. She is the reason I love math. Mr. Hoke was an amazing science teacher. I spent several summers on Bios, an educational camping trip led by Mr. Hoke. They were both ahead of the times in terms of student relationships; in the 80s and 90s teachers did not talk to their students at all. When I was a student, I was a really awkward, introverted nerd, but they both went out of their way to show me they cared and to form a relationship with me, and it wasn’t just me. They were great with all their students.” 

According to LeBoeuf, her favorite part of teaching is getting to know her students, and she tries her best to support them when possible.  

“I love teaching math, but my favorite part of teaching is building relationships with my students,” LeBoeuf said. “I try to go to events to support my kids – games, Stark Reading, plays, concerts, etc. It’s important for me to show up and support not only the kids I teach, but all of the kids at this school.”