The Foundation for Lee County Public Schools recognized six teachers for outstanding performance in the classroom this week.

“Golden Apple” recipients for the current school year are Deborah Suhrie, a first-grade teacher at Trafalgar Elementary; Debra Hornick, a second-grade teacher at Tice Elementary; Jennifer Tomlinson, an English teacher at Fort Myers High; Leisha Roy, a health teacher at Gulf Middle; Mirta Torres, a third-grade teacher at Spring Creek Elementary and Tilisa Skerczak, a kindergarten teacher at Sunshine Elementary.

These instructors were selected from among 35 finalists culled from some 2,325 nominees. It’s a grueling selection process that included formal interviews and classroom observations. We commend and thank these teachers for their efforts and we wish them long careers in the School District of Lee County.

We also commend the foundation, which has been recognizing outstanding teachers for the last 21 years through its Golden Apple Teacher Recognition Program. The program, according to the foundation Web site, was created with the “objective of recognizing and elevating the status of teachers and the teaching profession in Lee County.” The program was the first to be offered by the foundation and its intent was to both recognize educators and emphasize the importance of their efforts in the classroom.

It’s now just one of the programs offered by the foundation with the help of donations from the community.

For information on the foundation or its programs, visit www.leeschoolfoundation.org or call 337-0433.

– Breeze Newspapers editorial