TOP OF THE CLASS
SHOT ON LOCATION AT THE LITTLE RED SCHOOLHOUSE, PALM BEACH
Palm Beach County abounds with outstanding teachers who think beyond the classroom and make a genuine difference in their students’ lives. This summer, while they took a much-deserved break, PBI embarked on a mission to identify some of the best. We put out a call for nominations in our inaugural Education Awards, looking for distinguished candidates in the categories of educator, academic program, and institutional excellence. On September 20, we’ll honor the finalists and announce the winners at a dinner at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach. Here, we present the five teachers in the running for Educator of the Year.
Yash Bhagwanji
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY
For Yash Bhagwanji, PhD, it was Palm Beach County’s natural beauty and wonderful biological diversity that ignited a passion for children’s environmental literacy development. He began teaching at Florida Atlantic University in 2003 and helped to create the university’s early childhood education degree—making FAU the first college in the state to offer a bachelor’s degree
