At an assembly held on May 24, 2019, Governor Gina Raimondo named the 2020 RI Teacher of the Year in the presence of the students, teachers, and RI and local officials who gathered, believing that the assembly’s purpose was to celebrate the good work being done by Smithfield High School in the area of Career and Technical Education (CTE). To be fair, there’s much to celebrate at Smithfield High School in terms of its CTE programs so few suspected that a surprise was coming.
Liz Russillo exemplifies each of the attributes that are indicative of excellence in the field of education: knowledge of their area of specialization, knowledge and employment of effective instructional strategies, strong relationships with students, and influence on others in the teaching profession. Elizabeth Russillo exemplifies each of these attributes each and every day and we all benefit from the work that she does -- students and other educators alike.
Her commitment to our school, students, and the teaching profession as a whole, can be recognized through the unique and innovative experiential learning activities in her classes, her work as a FUSE fellow and an educational coach, and her many contributions to the strong culture at Smithfield High School.
There's no one better to represent Rhode Island teachers as the state's teacher of the year. Congratulations Liz!