Congratulations to Columbus Elementary School’s Jerod Harney, who was named 2020 Outstanding Educator of the Year as part of the McMinnville Distinguished Service Awards.
Educators are nominated by licensed and classified staff for the Distinguished Service Award to recognize their contribution to their school and the district, excellence in teaching, leadership, volunteer efforts and other accomplishments.
The award reflects Harney’s efforts in small group instruction, project development, celebrating school community and planning and implementing volunteer opportunities. According to one nominator, besides being a respectful and compassionate teacher to his students and toward their parents, he also “does many things for the school as a whole. Some examples are gardening with students in our school’s courtyard, bringing in volunteer dads, organizing school-wide exercise competitions that his LRC students help to tally. Most recently, he organized a display of hearts with students’ definitions of love throughout the school.”
Harney, an LRC teacher, has been working in the district since 2015.
Because of the extended school closure, the award was announced virtually to Columbus via a Zoom staff meeting.
The annual award is usually celebrated at the Distinguished Service Awards dinner at the McMinnville Grand Ballroom. This year’s celebration is on hold during the state-wide stay-at-home order.