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Popular teacher wins trip to Holland

Cindy Ramunno
EDU Goldman SM 5-4 Vail Daily/Shane Macomber Avon Elementary School teacher Lauren Goldman helps Gelasio Guzman,8,(left) and Diego Barajas,8, two of her second grade students with a math problem.
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Sometimes the best teachers never get what they deserve – well-behaved students, competitive salaries, expense accounts. In fact, they usually get more work because they’re so good.

And rarely do the stars align as they did on April 15 during the annual Public Education Foundation’s “Evening of Stars.” The foundation hosts the annual event to award and appreciate some of the area’s finest teachers.



There is also a yearly raffle, where kids and parents buy raffle tickets in the name of their favorite teacher. This year’s prize was an all-expense paid trip to Holland for two.

When the winning ticket was pulled out, a popular second grade teacher from Avon Elementary got what she deserved. Lauren Goldman is a teacher at Avon Elementary and she’s excited.

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“I’m very excited for this trip – it’s hard to believe I actually won,” says Goldman, who will be taking her boyfriend along. “It probably won’t hit me until I board the plane.”

Goldman plans to bring some great pictures, along with a daily journal, back to the students in Avon. She is also planning to explore area road trails this summer for a little-known hobby – dirt biking.

Goldman moved Avon from Parker, Colorado and is in her first year with Eagle County schools. But she has already been involved at the district level.

“Lauren is involved in the revision of our elementary report card and the revision of our mathematics curriculum,” Director of Elementary Education Carolyn Neff says. “Her enthusiasm and knowledge is such an asset to the District.”

Goldman says teaching is very gratifying.

“I love teaching the kids and watching them get excited when they learn something new,” she says.

The best thing about teaching second graders is they love to learn and are interested in everything a teacher does in the classroom, she says.

Goldman is also an advocate of the district’s sometimes controversial teacher advancement program – better known as TAP.

“The best thing about TAP is the weekly professional development – I like having time to collaborate consistently with colleagues,” she says. “We try new teaching strategies and reflect with each other on how they went in our classrooms. It’s very beneficial.”


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