8th-grade Peoria teacher wins Gaydos & Chad’s Tribute to a Teacher

PHOENIX — Everything about the start of this school year feels different, but KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Gaydos and Chad’s monthly Pay Tribute to a Teacher, presented by Your Valley Toyota Dealers, is still in action.

Terramar Academy of the Arts eighth grade teacher Tracey Brody is the first recipient of the $2,500 award of the school year.

“I’m definitely working more than ever before, feeling a little bit like we’re 24/7 on call now,” Brody said. “I’m really loving that, despite the fact that we’re online, I still feel like I’m making connections with my students.”

Brody has gone above and beyond in her teaching.

She runs student council, has spent weekend days at the school with students who do not have a computer at home, and has bought shoes and clothes for students who are unable to afford them.

At the end of last semester, she made gift baskets and left them on the front door of her students’ homes so they could have a proper goodbye for the pandemic-shortened school year.

She doesn’t think this is going the extra mile.

“I think I do what my profession should be doing,” she said. “This is a job at which we are entrusted with people’s children, their treasures.”

Brody said she plans to use the prize money to improve her classroom and curriculum, particularly for students who have special needs.

“What I really, really need, because this is my first year in eighth grade — I need tools for my classroom … particularly for my special ed students,” she said.

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