Ellery Smith
Position: Business Teacher
School: Hebron High School
School District: Lewisville Independent School District
City, State: Carrollton, Texas
About the Nominee: Ellery Smith was nominated by his principal, Scot Finch, as well as Ashley Patterson. The following profile contains information from both nominations.Mr. Smith has taught at Hebron High School since 2003. He has been an exceptional teacher of business, where he has taught accounting, Money Matters and Business Law. Besides being an exceptional teacher, Mr. Smith is an outstanding role model for students. He is a man of integrity who creates meaningful relationships with students, leading them to excel in school. In addition, Mr Smith is the school's Business Professionals of America (BPA) sponsor, where he has led students to medal in various competitions.In the beginning of November, Mr. Smith met with Ms. Patterson for a retirement planning appointment. From the minute he greeted them in the hallway, he was all smiles. He has an energy about him that is simply infectious. He and Ms. Patterson spoke about how much he loves his class and the fact that he still keeps in touch with his students who have graduated over 10 years ago. Mr. Smith showed them photos of a recent wedding he attended for one of his students. He laughed and said he has lost track of how many student weddings he has been to!Most importantly, Mr. Smith shared his passion for encouraging his students to stay informed about the importance of savings and being financially responsible. He praises diversity and the unconventional personalities of his students, and he understands that not everyone is meant to follow the same path. It's important to him that his students are well-prepared to pursue whichever career path they choose. He wants students to learn how to maximize their potential and understand how finance can work in their favor if they choose to be empowered. For example, he does after school projects, one on one tutoring and offers a "Money Matters" class to his students, which helps them with the basic financial life skills that will help set them up for success later on in life. Mr. Smith intends on being heavily involved with his church and assisting seniors and church members with retirement and financial planning assistance, as often times, they are easily taken advantage of. He is an amazing, inspirational teacher who will inspire the next generation to be more responsible with savings and finance. It's teachers like Mr. Smith who will ultimately help with students' savings habits, one child at a time. He has changed many lives for good over the past 13 years!
[nominee_videos nominee_email="smithed@lisd.net"]