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VyStar Duval County announces Teacher of the Year

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Julia Mayeshiba, was named 2023 VyStar Duval County Teacher of the Year at the 32nd Annual EDDY Awards.

Mayeshiba has been teacher for four years.

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She has been selected among 180 teachers nominated by the committee of volunteers.

Mayeshiba graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science degree and then received a Master’s Degree in secondary education from the University of North Florida in 2019 while serving as an AmeriCorps Teacher Resident. Along with being a WozED Certified STEM Trainer, she is a Robert Noyce National Science Foundation Teaching Fellow.

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She began teaching at Andrew Jackson High School in 2019 and since then has initiated an after-school tutoring system for math and physics students; served on the Positive Behavior Intervention Support Team to implement school-wide incentives to reward good student behaviors; and forged ongoing partnerships with STEM 2Hub and WozED to initiate a school-based drone technology program. She is also the Senior Class Sponsor.

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“My primary message would be that everyone has a role to play to help the children of Duval County achieve greatness. Whether you are a teacher, parent, grandparent, neighbor, or even if you have no direct connection to my students, you have a role to play and valuable gifts and insights to offer our kids.” - Julia Mayeshiba

The EDDY Awards teacher of the year program is hosted by the Jacksonville Public Education Fund and is accompanied by a year-long effort to celebrate and elevate Duval County’s best public-school educators.

Mayeshiba will go on to compete for the statewide title.

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