Joliet Public Schools District 86′s Joy Hopkins and Megan Palka are being recognized for their contributions to the social-emotional development and well-being of students.
Global nonprofit and leading social-emotional learning provider Committee for Children has selected Farragut Elementary School Principal Joy Hopkins and social worker Megan Palka as 2024 recipients of its distinguished Second Step Educator of the Year Awards, according to a new release from District 86 announcing the award.
“We are so proud of Joy and Megan for receiving this prestigious award,” District 86 Superintendent Theresa Rouse said in the release. “The Second Step social-emotional learning program has helped improve student engagement and academic performance across the district.”
Second Step honors educators “who are setting new standards in social-emotional practices that support academics and drive meaningful, lasting change in their school communities,” the district said in the release.
Hopkins and Palka were selected for their demonstrated ability to build “a supportive learning environment where students thrive socially, emotionally, and academically. Their work implementing Second Step programs, the leading research-based, social-emotional learning curricula for Early Learning through Grade 12, has supported students in developing critical life skills, well-being and academic success at Farragut Elementary School,” the district said in the release.
The two were celebrated at the Committee for Children’s Second Step Educator of the Year awards ceremony Nov. 7 on the Second Step’s YouTube channel, according to the release.
As Second Step Educator of the Year award winners, Hopkins and Palka join a list of K–12 educators supporting children’s development of essential life skills, such as like communication, perseverance and problem-solving, that will support success in the classroom and throughout their lives, according to the district.