After weeks of waiting in anticipation, arts and entertainment director, JMo, received the results from the Bubbl’r Teacher of the Year Award. He had been nominated in the program by a Prospect family in November and anyone could vote for him to advance him further into the competition. Before Thanksgiving break, he had become a finalist with nine other teachers in the United States.

The prize for the winner consisted of a $10,000 school donation, a year supply of free Bubbl’r, and a gift card. Now, with each individual vote from the Prospect community making a difference, JMo has won!

“It’s a celebration of a crazy week before Thanksgiving,” JMo said. “This is a big win for Prospect and a really special day for me.”

JMo had found out that he won when a teacher first texted him during a class he was teaching. Shortly after, his phone started to blow up with notifications of people congratulating him. 

Immediately, class was stopped to celebrate, and JMo’s theater students went wild. They were just as excited as him, if not more. 

“I was over the moon because [JMo] deserves this award,” Tommy Petricca, a freshman in the theater production, said. “He has done so much for the theater department and I hope he continues to do so.”

To continue his theater legacy, JMo plans to use the money from the $10,000 granted donation towards creating a more powerful arts and entertainment program, specifically the theater program. However, there is no direct plan for the money right now, because JMo did not want to plan in advance and assume that he would win. 

“I hope we can improve our theater conditions and now we have a better budget,” Petricca said. “And caffeine.”

JMo is known for letting students stop by and grab a Bubbl’r, and something that his students are looking forward to is having more access to the drinks. Theater students have reported of having a Bubbl’r around two to three times a week because of their director.

While in the program, JMo did not get a chance to communicate with any of his fellow nominated teachers, although he enjoyed reading their profiles and blurbs written about them on the Bubbl’r website. 

“I love how Bubbl’r kind of shined a light on educators who worked really hard and I was excited to be recognized with some really great teachers,” JMo said.

Though it is clear that JMo secured the win, the exact number of votes for him or any of the other contestants is unknown. 

“At this point, we know what the result is, and I’m just thankful for anyone who supported me in any way,” JMo said. 

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