Every year, the College of Education and Social Services (CESS) at the University of Vermont, together with Vermont supervisory unions and school districts, the Vermont Agency of Education, and the Vermont NEA, join to honor the accomplishments of our state’s outstanding educators.
This year, Brian Japp, a Forestry Teacher in the Natural Resources program at the Center for Technology, Essex was named CTE’s 2023 Vermont Outstanding Educator.
A fellow colleague of Japp spoke about his recent accomplishment:
“Brian exudes enthusiasm for life, for teaching, and for his relationships with students and colleagues. Classroom routines and norms are well designed and consistently reinforced, which lends itself to a calm, safe learning environment for students. Safety is a priority across CTE, especially in Natural Resources-Forestry & Horticulture (NR-F&H), where students learn to safely operate chainsaws and heavy equipment. Brian’s diligent attention to the many moving parts that make up a typical day in NR-F&H allows students to grow and succeed in a relevant and realistic technical education setting. When students visit NR-F&H as potential applicants, Brian greets them with genuine interest and warmth which instantly sets them at ease in a novel situation. Parents and team members remark upon Brian’s ability to connect with students and the value he places on each student’s strengths. Brian incorporates restorative practices into classroom culture; those benefits are visible and tangible. He has established a safe learning environment for students from different backgrounds with varied strengths and engages them in industry-recognized technical tasks and learning opportunities.
Brian’s exceptional practice extends beyond his indoor and outdoor classrooms to team and program meetings. His participation in meetings with parents, students, colleagues, and sending school staff is marked by a deep understanding of his students and a desire to participate with a strengths-based lens with student success being the consistent goal”.