EXTRAORDINARY EDUCATORS Four Teachers From Wellington School Honored With The Economic Council’s Newest Award BY LOUIS HILLARY PARK
Sally Mascia
Emily MacMillan
They blazed trails,created a space where students could express their fears, built a sense of community and persevered despite personal heartbreak as they walked a unique tightrope between inperson learning and online classes. They are the four Binks Forest Elementary School team members honored during this spring’s Extraordinary Educator Awards, sponsored by the Economic Council of Palm Beach County — teachers Emily MacMillan, Sally Mascia and Brandi Soto, and behavioral health professional Hope Jackson.
Brandi Soto
The awards were based on nominations and testimonials from parents. Among the county’s nearly 200 schools and more than 12,900 teachers, no other school had more than two honorees, according to the council’s Facebook page. Of Soto, one parent reflected on the virus-driven wildfire of anxiety that scorched through the spring of 2020: “We have never felt so supported by a teacher. She made us feel stress-free during a time when everyone was switching from brick-and-mortar to online learning! … Thank you so much, dear
Hope Jackson
Mrs. Soto, for the amazing, great teacher you are!” Soto was very moved by her nomination, let alone winning the award. “When I saw what some of the parents wrote about me, I cried,” said Soto, who grew up in Palm Beach County and has been teaching for 17 years. “Parent involvement is huge here.” Soto, a Florida Atlantic University graduate, has been impressed by the Binks Forest faculty ever since arriving at the school eight years ago. “At Binks, going above and beyond is simply in our nature,” she said. wellington the magazine | august 2021 27