FARMINGTON, Mich. (WXYZ) — An elementary school teacher in Farmington is in the semi-finals and could be named America's Favorite Teacher next month.
Jo-Lynne Portelli is a second-grade teacher at Longacre Elementary School, who has been teaching for nearly two decades. She is one of 128 semi-finalists named for the award, organized by Colossal and Reader's Digest.
If Portelli is named America's Favorite Teacher, she will win $25,000, a feature in Reader's Digest, a trip to Hawaii, and a school assembly with Bill Nye.
"Scholarships are important," Portelli said on how she would spend the money if she won. "Some ideas are for future first generation educators like myself and for future educators raised in a single parent home like my daughter. It never made sense to me that many companies pay for their employers to further their education often times paying for a masters degree but yet teachers must continue their education to be highly qualified but are responsible for paying these loans. To pay off student loans for my daughter and I would be a blessing."
The contest began with over 100,000 teachers competing for the title. Voting for the semi-finals ends on Thursday, April 24: Portelli must get first place among an eight-teacher pool to advance to the finals.
You can vote for Portelli (one vote per day, for free) at this link. You can pay to vote more than once at the same link, with all proceeds going towards the Planetary Society, which promotes science education and research
