Watertown Public Schools is pleased to announce that Ms. Chelsie Guerrera, Mathematics teacher at Watertown High School, has been named the 2022-2023 District Teacher of the Year.
District and Watertown High School administrators, colleagues and students surprised Ms. Guerrera in her classroom with this exciting news. Ms. Guerrera is a proud Watertown High School Alumni, class of 2011! Ms. Guerrera then graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics from Central Connecticut State University in 2015. She continued on at the University of Bridgeport, and received a Master of Science Degree in Secondary Education in 2017. Ms. Guerrera began her career in Watertown Public Schools in 2015. She has accomplished so much in her seven years with us!
In addition to teaching various Algebra and Geometry courses at WHS, Ms. Guerrera created a course in 2020, “Math for the Trades.” She recognized that there is a true need in the field and sensed the need for various post high school pathways for students. Math for the Trades is a relevant and student-centered class that caters to students’ needs and interests and provides opportunities for direct application of skills. Ms. Guerrera creates a direct pipeline from this course to the community by inviting guest speakers and planning field trips, such as to NVCC, IMTI and Porter & Chester to name a few.
Ms. Guerrera goes above and beyond in countless ways, which includes work on the READY Curriculum; cocreation of the Summer Bridge Program; serving in the capacity of a TEAM Mentor; Co-Advising for the Class of 2020 and 2024; and participation on several committees, such as the Mid-term and Final Committee; Climate and Culture Committee; RULER Implementation Committee; and the NEASC 2015 Facilities Committee. Additionally, Ms. Guerrera serves as the Co-Creator and Co-Advisor for the Watertown High School Chapter of Mu Alpha Theta and was inducted into Delta Kappa Gamma in 2022.
Ms. Guerrera’s dedication to her students is evident in all that she does! Ms. Guerrera will represent Watertown in the State of Connecticut Teacher of the Year Program for 2022- 2023. We wish her the best of luck in this endeavor. We have exceptional staff in Watertown Public Schools.
The Teacher of the Year Program allows us to honor the efforts of all of our classroom teachers by selecting one representative of our excellent teaching staff. However, we would be remiss if we didn’t seize this opportunity to recognize the other spectacular nominees for Teacher of the Year 2022-2023:
• Paulina Auclair, English teacher, WHS• Jessica D’Addona, 4th Grade Teacher, Polk
• Susan Danaher, Speech and Language, Polk
• Jennifer Gruettner, 4th Grade Teacher, Judson
• Michelle Kociszewski, Family & Consumer Science, Swift
• Tara Lanese, Preschool, John Trumbull
• Erin Mathews, Mathematics Teacher, Swift
• Thomas Mathews, Technology Education, WHS
• Jack Zaino, Music Teacher, Swift