Local teachers honored with VFW District 1 awards

VFW District 1 Commander Don Wischmann congratulates, from left, teachers Nancy Thompson, Chris Brown and Lori Kutrich.
VFW District 1 Commander Don Wischmann congratulates, from left, teachers Nancy Thompson, Chris Brown and Lori Kutrich.

Scriber Lake High School teacher Chris Brown was named runner up for the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) District 1 High School Teacher of the Year. He was one of four area teachers honored for their ongoing efforts to promote American history, traditions and its institutions; teach and reinforce citizenship education topics; and promote democratic values and beliefs.

There are eight VFW Posts in District 1, which covers all of Snohomish County. The teacher recognition program is sponsored by the National VFW through its Citizenship Education Teacher Awards Program. Typically, teachers are nominated for this recognition by school administrators.

Brown’s teaching career started in 1976 and has been entirely in the Edmonds School District. For more than 20 of those years, he has worked with the district’s at-risk youth at Scriber Lake High School. He was one of the founders of the District’s INSTEP Program, an integrated outdoor education program that provides students with team-building, self-discovery and risk-taking experiences while hiking and camping. Scriber Lake Principal Andrea Hillman described Brown as a person who “exudes peace and kindness and is a champion of healthy living.”

Brown has served as a Washington State assessment trainer and has been a member of learning subject writing teams. While he retired two years ago, he still teaches the INSTEP program and volunteers his time to tutor Scriber Lake students.

Lori Kutrich, who teaches at Terrace Park School in Mountlake Terrace, was named Middle School Teacher of the Year. Kutrich was nominated by her principal, Mary Freitas, who described her as a “tireless advocate for America, patriotism and the meaning of being an American.” For the past 10 years, Kutrich has taught in the Edmonds School District’s Challenge Program, designed for highly capable students, and each year her students participate in the VFW’s student essay program. She was described as a “wonderfully gifted educator who brings passion to the classroom and serves as a fabulous role model” and as a “warm, approachable, sensitive and caring professional.”

Nancy Thompson, a music teacher at Mukilteo’s Serene Lake Elementary School, was named District 1 Elementary Teacher of the Year, and High School Teacher of the Year honors were presented, posthumously, to Charles “Tuck” Gionet. Representing Tuck at the recognition program was his widow, Marci, and two of his three children. Gionet who taught at Snohomish High School for 32 years, lost his battle with cancer and died in August 2015 at the age of 55.

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