City of Germantown
The April Teacher of the Month and Youth Excellence winners were honored by the Education Commission at the April 8 meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen.
The April Teacher of the Month was awarded to Mr. Kipp Lawton, a fifth-grade teacher at Riverdale School. Mr. Lawton has been teaching at Riverdale since 2017. During that time, he has become actively involved in his students’ lives, both in and out of the classroom. He helped cofound the Riverdale soccer team and was the head coach for three years. He also helped cofound and still sponsors the Riverdale Chess Club and RaiderTV.
Parents are appreciative of the impact Mr. Lawton has made in their kids’ lives. One of them writes, “I could not possibly use enough descriptive words to adequately express how effectively he builds relationships and instills a love of learning in his students.”
Another nominating parent writes, “Mr. Lawton has taught all three of my kids at Riverdale. To say he is their favorite teacher is an understatement. He truly makes learning enjoyable for his students. But beyond that, he really sees them as the people they are and honors his students. He makes them feel seen, heard and welcome in his classroom.”
His students share this appreciation and admiration of Mr. Lawton’s commitment to teaching. One student who nominated him for this award writes, “Mr. Lawton is my homeroom teacher and also my favorite fifth-grade teacher! He is always in a good mood and patient and I feel like I can go up to him at any time and he will listen to me and help me out. I especially like Mr. Lawton because he is a teacher that makes science fun. Instead of making us read texts, he mostly encourages hands-on experiments. The coolest thing I have ever seen in his class was when he made a colorful, bubbly eruption with dry ice to teach us phase changes. That was epic!!”
The April Youth Excellence Award was presented to Henry Vander Zwaag, a senior at Evangelical Christian School. One of the Top 10 students in his class, Henry has won multiple awards for top grades at ECS, including the 2023 Pre-Calculus Award.
He is a member of the school’s chapter of the National Honor Society and serves as the president of the school’s chapter of the mathematics honor society Mu Alpha Theta. He has also been a member of the Student Council all four years that he’s been in high school.
One nominating teacher writes, “For years, I had heard rumblings from other teachers about Henry’s quick mind and drive for excellent grades. Once he was a student in my class, I was able to see that positive talk in action. Routinely, Henry was my highest-scoring student.”
Henry plays Varsity Tennis for ECS and is the team captain this season. Another nominating teacher adds, “Henry is a confident, focused and self-driven student, whether it be in the classroom, building computers or on the tennis court. He is an excellent role model, both to his peers and the middle school tennis team, whom he helps coach. The middle-school students love Henry and his encouragement in tennis!”
Outside of school, Henry has a heart to serve others. He often volunteers to do yard work for senior citizens and those unable to work in their yards. He also participates and serves through his church youth group. Additionally, each year, Henry works with his church – Riveroaks Reformed Presbyterian – to help organize their annual Fall Festival and Easter celebrations.
