Evening of Excellence with the Outstanding Educators of 2024

Last night, the Provo City School District Foundation hosted their annual Evening of Excellence, to honor five educators who are making a difference in the lives of the students they help educate. The Foundation threw a small party, and provided dinner for these educators and their loved ones, to show the District’s appreciation for their hard work and dedication. 

Outstanding Educators of the Year

Tricia Midgley

Tricia has a heart of gold. She has BIG ideas and is constantly looking for ways that she and our school can improve. She is not afraid of hard work and her concern for her students and her intense desire for them to succeed is evident in each lesson and each push she makes to improve our school. Her goal is to help and this is seen in every effort she makes. Tricia is the kind of teacher I aspire to be someday.

Tricia consistently goes out of her way to help students. Her favorite part of teaching is helping individual students be able to see the “lightbulb” moment. I have observed her going student by student through her class to ensure they are able to understand difficult principles and accomplish rigorous assignments.

Tricia has also created a way to welcome parents into our school to help volunteer in our classrooms. She has helped to bridge that gap between home and school while also providing chances for additional adult role models and helpers in the classroom.

Letecia Franco

Letecia is a kind and positive force for good. She reaches out to each person she passes by and goes out of her way to reach out to and check up on others she might not see as often.  Letecia speaks positively about her students and is constantly lifting students and staff up by reaching out to individuals as well as building them up with her positivity and kind words.  Letecia is one of Provo School District’s most outstanding employees because she goes beyond general standards and expectations of a teacher. She is at the school early each morning and long after school ends taking time to prepare and plan for the days ahead. She cares immensely about her students and how she can best help them. She puts extraordinary time and effort into teaching her students in a way that they will understand and retain. It is easy to see that Letecia cares tremendously about teaching. She truly will go to the ends of the earth to help her students.

Lorien Francis

Lorien is a master teacher that is driven to provide top notch education to all students. She has accepted the role as a co-teacher and has many students with special needs in her classes. She is continually collaborating with the special education teacher to ensure the lessons that she teaches are accessible to this population of students as well. She will research and develop ways to bring the same rigor of criteria to her students in a way that they can understand and keep up with the other students in class. Mrs. Francis is also teaching student government students how to lead and put on multiple events that add to the culture of Provo High. She has an extensive institutional knowledge of the school as well and this institutional knowledge is passed on to her co-teacher, student government mentee, and the whole biology team. She is also a co-sponsor for the HOSA program introducing students to the medical field and the various positions that students can have and what it takes to achieve the goals of working in the medical field.

Jordan Cimenski

Jordan is always striving to improve. She never stops thinking about how she can be better, how the school can be better, and how the district can be better. Everything she does has the goal of making things more effective and efficient for both staff and students. She’s made a huge difference for some of our newest teachers directly, but also to the school overall. All the work she does and resources she creates shows how much she genuinely cares for the future of education in our school and district. She’s passionate and determined. She follows up with students on how they’re feeling and if they need to talk to anyone. She provides positive reinforcement for students and gives out prizes and emails parents about kids who are doing very well.  Jordan also created and leads the school’s support committee. Which has made a big difference at Dixon. In the committee she hears teachers’ opinions and concerns about the school and helps brainstorm solutions. She then brings the problems and solutions to the administration. 

Carla Johnson

Carla contributes to the well being of every school in the district through training teachers how to effectively utilize existing curriculum and giving ideas of how to supplement curriculum in ways that support student thinking and learning. Everything Carla  does is to support teachers in their efforts with students. Every training with Carla leaves teachers feeling like they have more skills and are better equipped to teach students in ways that work for all the various students they encounter. Carla researches things thoroughly to find out the best answers to any questions about teaching math.  She is devoted to supporting teachers up to and including writing grants to ensure they have ample supplies for their classroom, visiting and giving feedback, and helping with any needs they might have. She ensures that math teachers (including elementary teachers) are all equipped to help their students learn grade-level math content at a deep level.  Carla also writes monthly newsletters for teachers, providing ideas to try in the classroom, and seeks input from all the teachers to ensure that everyone has a voice and can benefit from a variety of ideas.

Alyce Jayne McKinney

Alyce Jayne McKinney has worked in Utah Education for 54 years! Mrs. McKinney brings positive energy and uplifting feelings to any room she enters. She is an extremely caring, energetic, and compassionate person who is all about educating, nurturing, mentoring, coaching, and being an uplifting positive role model for students.  She is always serving and working to ensure all the students are well taken care of, receiving their education, and being treated fairly. Alyce Jayne is always one of the first ones to jump in and serve others or help out where needed. Mrs. McKinney is extremely kind, sincere, and compassionate with students during school hours as well. When any of the students come to the office for anything Alyce Jayne is there welcoming them and taking care of any needs they may have. She is quick to give kids hugs, high-fives, smiles, and words of encouragement and self-motivation. She is the “Go-To” for just about everything at Rock Canyon for all faculty and staff members. Everyone seeks out her wisdom, knowledge, guidance, experience, and example.

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