Jane Stewart Award of Excellence

JANE STEWART Award of Excellence

Julie Gulliford

If you take a peek into Julie Gulliford's Upper Elementary classroom at any time during the school day, you will see precisely what you 'd expect... teaching. One Westview administrator said, "I am sometimes reluctant to walk in to observe Julie. She is always actively teaching, and I don't want to disturb the magic happening with her students."

Julie is a well-respected teacher at The Westview School and is described by her co-workers as being driven, passionate, and kind. "Julie is extremely dedicated and always willing to go the extra mile for students."

Julie began her career in education after receiving her bachelor's degree in elementary education K-6 from the University of North Florida (UNF). Special education wasn't part of the elementary teaching degree at UNF, so Julie didn't have any experience with special needs kids until her first year of teaching. Julie recalls working at a private school in Florida, where four of the 16 students in her kindergarten class had special needs.

"Working with those four students brought me a lot of joy, and I found that I really liked trying different strategies and figuring out how to help and reach each of those students," said Julie. "For the next few years, I found the students I always looked forward to the most in my class were the ones with special needs."

After working in private education for three years, Julie decided to return to school to direct her focus more toward special education. At The University of Florida, Julie earned her master's degree in special education with an emphasis on autism spectrum disorder.

"When I started to look at moving to Houston, I began my job search, and Westview caught my eye," said Julie, "It was the first school I applied to." From the start, Julie was attracted to Westview because of the small class sizes and because it was a school specifically dedicated to helping students with autism.

The nature of specialized education at Westview allows for differentiation within the classroom. Julie received much praise for how easy she makes this look. "Every student in Julie's classroom is actively engaged," one colleague commented, "Each kiddo is working at the ideal level for them every day."

Julie sees her Westview students as highly capable, and it is gratifying for Julie to watch her students accomplish something after working hard towards it. "Whether it is behavior success, academic success, or social success, I love seeing their faces and hearing their excitement when they can do something that they couldn't before," said Julie.

Everything she does is to ensure her students get the best education possible. Her students always come first in everything she does.

Julie shares that her favorite thing about being a part of Westview is the support and collaboration between staff members, administrators, and families.

"Everyone working [at Westview] wants what is best for each student," said Julie, "being able to rely on that support to help me help each student in my class succeed and reach goals set for them is invaluable."

Julie credits the team effort of the Westview community for her success. "I would not be the teacher I am without the support of my administrators, colleagues, parents, and the students themselves." But, it is her students that genuinely make her job worthwhile. "My students are pushed hard, and each one is given high goals they work to accomplish throughout the school year," said Julie. "Seeing my students push themselves, practice, fail and get back up again, succeed, and learn is what inspires me to learn and try new ideas, projects, and activities in the classroom."

Julie received numerous nominations and high praise from her colleagues for being incredibly talented as a teacher and committed to ensuring that students receive the best education possible.

The Jane Stewart Award of Excellence is awarded yearly to a teacher who provides exemplary service to the students and the school. With great appreciation and admiration, we are delighted to award the 2021-2022 Jane Stewart Award of Excellence to Upper Elementary teacher, Julie Gulliford.