Cindy B.

Marcos de Niza

Mrs. Benson is more than deserving of this award. As the only Advanced Placement English teacher at our school, she has extremely large classes- around 40 kids in one class- on top of the regular courses that she teaches. She is the most giving teacher at Marcos, from the effort she puts into her lessons, to her availability to students who need extra help, she does everything she can to ensure that we understand the curriculum. She is a member of site council at our school, she sponsors the Christian Club and our chapter of the National Honors Society (NHS). As a member of NHS council, I witness her devote much of what extra time she has to helping us give back to our community. Not only do her classes incorporate some of the most difficult course material of any at our school, but she makes learning the material fun. Personally, I have learned more from Mrs. Benson than any other teacher, and my writing dramatically improves each year that I have her (I've had her three of my four years in high school since she used to teach freshmen as well). The patience and levelheadedness she displays with 40 rambunctious teenagers stuffed into a classroom at the end of the day is a testament in itself to why she deserves this award. Additionally, she is the mother of three boys, two of whom are teenagers, and is in the thick of planning her eldest son's wedding. I am not sure how she stays on top of it all, but she manages to give 100 percent to each of her commitments while keeping herself available to students for extra help and guidance. Since three of the classes she teaches are for seniors, she is overwhelmed this time of year with writing recommendation letters for countless college applications and scholarships, and so much of her work and dedication to teaching goes unnoticed or is taken for granted. I hope that as students, this can be our way of giving back to her for all that she gives to us.

Signed,
Sarah Jarvis