Ms. DeFerrari was recently nominated as Staff Member of the Month in the English department. She was nominated for the dedication, care, and excellence she consistently brings into her classroom and the way she creates an environment where students feel valued, challenged, and supported. She was nominated by area supervisor, Ms. Jamie Cawley.

“Ms. DeFerrari is a thoughtful, highly skilled educator who consistently brings intention, care, and excellence into her classroom,” said Ms. Cawley. “She balances high academic expectations with empathy, and responsiveness, creating an environment where students feel valued, challenged, supported.”

Ms. DeFerrari uses a lot of project-based learning activities in order to make meaning connections between the literature and her students’ lives. According to Ms. Cawley, this helps empower students to take ownership of their learning and growth. 

“Above all, she makes her students laugh with her bold sense of humor and ability to see the lighter side of life,” said Ms. Cawley. 

When Ms. DeFerrari found out she was nominated, she shared how she felt about gaining recognition.

“It’s an honor to be recognized for something I do,” said Ms. DeFerrari. “I truly do enjoy my job and teaching new students. I’ve had a lot of memorable experiences with students over the years.”

Ms. DeFerrari has been teaching at Lakeland for 22 years.

She also shared what she enjoys most about teaching her subject.

“My favorite part of my content area is that I love doing stories and getting people to think.”

Some fun facts about Ms. DeFerrari are:

“I’m a huge Marvel/DC fan, a little Fantasy nerd such as lego games and Star Wars as well.”

An animal-lover, Ms. DeFerrari also takes care of cats in her spare time.