Orange and Seminole counties named their teachers of the year this week.
On Monday, Seminole County Public Schools named Janan Hodges, a third-grade teacher at Spring Lake Elementary School, as its 2024 Teacher of the Year, and Orange County Public Schools named Francisco Cardoza, a teacher at Village Park Elementary School.
Hodges has been an educator for the past 16 years, spending her last 4 years at Spring Lake. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Hodges currently serves as the school’s New Educator Support Team lead teacher to assist all new teachers at Spring Lake. She also serves as an individual mentor teacher for others who wish to hone their skills and improve their connections with students.
Cardoza joined Village Park Elementary when it opened in 2021. He started the school’s National Elementary Honor Society chapter and Safety Patrol, and regularly tutors and mentors students.
Cardoza is known for radical classroom transformations, having turned his room into a NASCAR race track when his students were studying force and motion.
Both teachers will represent their respective counties at the state level to compete for Florida Teacher of the Year.