By Matt de Simone
The Botetourt County School Board held its monthly meeting last Thursday at the Central Administration Office in Fincastle.
The board recognized the Botetourt County Public Schools (BCPS) October Employees of the Month: Buchanan teacher Lori Wentworth and James River High School head custodian Dan Garrison, along with Lord Botetourt High School math teacher Jimmy Yager as the Kiwanis Educator of the Year.
Lynne Bolton of the Kiwanis Club presented Yager with his certificate of recognition. For more than two decades, the Botetourt Kiwanis Club has worked with BCPS to award the teacher of the year.
Bolton read Yager’s award consideration submitted by Julie Burton, a math teacher at Lord Botetourt High School. In Burton’s submission for consideration, she stated that “Yager’s passion for education in mathematics is demonstrated daily with his energy and excitement in his lessons.
“He goes above and beyond to help students with learning material, whether its coming in early, staying late, or meeting during his planning time in addition to his classroom assistance… His concern and compassion for students is obvious in his report and relationships with them. His enthusiasm in the classroom rolls over into his support of students in their various extracurricular activities. Mr. Yager sees teaching as a way to not only educate students in math, but to connect with them and support them both inside the classroom and outside of school. He advocates for and encourages all students building and maintaining lifelong relationships that touch students well beyond their school years.”