Orange County Virtual School
Orlando, FL
Mrs. Lyon epitomizes the theme of bringing Joy to the lives of her students. As a math teacher with Orange County Virtual School in Orlando, Florida, she goes above and beyond to ensure that students from different backgrounds have a fun and engaging place to come together and learn. Her work became even more important during COVID-19, when enrollment in virtual school skyrocketed. She embraced the challenge by holding extra study sessions and making personal videos for each lesson to provide students with a familiar voice for challenging topics. Mrs. Lyon serves as the sponsor of the “Do Something” club, which focuses on improving the community through service projects. This year, she also initiated a competition within the school, raising money to buy yearbooks for deserving students who couldn’t otherwise afford to purchase them. As the lone AP Calculus teacher, she frequently holds tutoring sessions at night and personally delivered calculators to students throughout Orange County to set her students up for success before the AP exam. Whether it’s her fun themed on-campus workdays or the inspirational bitmoji’s she sends out to students, Mrs. Lyon is constantly working to bring students together in a virtual world.