A KIPP Indy Legacy High School educator is selected as a 2023 Harriett Ball Excellence in Teaching Award winner.
Leeta Robertson, a performing arts teacher, is among ten educators to win this year’s nationwide award. She will receive $10,000 in recognition of her exemplary work in the classroom.
The Harriett Ball Excellence in Teaching Award is given annually to a select group of K-12 teachers from KIPP schools around the country.
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The award recipients are chosen based on their prior achievements in elevating the academic performance of students. It’s also based on their ability to lead both in and outside the classroom. Along with their unwavering dedication to equipping students from underprivileged backgrounds to create a pathway to college.
Ms. Leeta Robertson
Amidst the pandemic, Robertson made a steadfast commitment to provide students with the ability to engage in performing arts. She did this despite them being confined to their homes.
As the high school’s first performing arts teacher, she built a collegiate-level artistic program that started virtually. Thanks to her work, KIPP Indy Legacy High is now creating a state-approved performing arts graduation pathway.
Robertson currently serves as the senior-grade-level chair and led the school’s current seniors to their strongest first-quarter academic results.
Her students return to her class year after year and say that the skills they learned under her tutelage—piano, drumming, theater performance, and theater tech—are some of their proudest accomplishments.
Robertson also builds relationships with teachers and community stakeholders. She does it through collaborating with them on programs like “Embrace and Encourage a Senior.”
The program provides encouragement to seniors who are nervous about life after high school.
“When I was searching for a performing arts teacher, I heard a story about a student who was so inspired by his teacher in middle school that he decided to major in music in college. Little did I know that this same teacher would join our team,” said school leader for the high school, David Spencer.
Contact staff writer Jade Jackson at 317-607-5792 or by email JadeJ@IndyRecorder.com. Follow her on Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON
