Sarasota County Educator Named 2023 Florida Teacher of the Year Finalist

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - Florida teachers are rocking out! The Florida Department of Education announced a Sarasota Middle School teacher as a finalist for the 2023 Florida Teacher of the Year Award.

Jennifer Jaso is a sixth-grade teacher at Sarasota Middle school, the announcement came during a surprise visit to the school from Deputy Chancellor for Educator quality and Dr. Paul Barns.

Jaso is a social studies teacher and builds relationships with her students, working with them to develop critical thinking skills among content knowledge.

From 185,000 public schools throughout the state, only five finalists were chosen for this award.

Earlier this morning, the FDOE announced Deelah Jackson, a fourth-grade teacher at Samoset Elementary School in Manatee County, as a finalist for the 2023 Florida Teacher of the Year award.

After each school district selects its teacher of the year, a committee reviews the district applications and the winner will be chosen after a series of reviews.

The winner will serve for one year as the Christa McAuliffe Ambassador for Education.

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