Golden Whisk Teachers of the Year

Cedar Brook Elementary teachers Hortencia Flores and Esmeralda Warshaw are featured in October’s Recipe for Success newsletter as the local group’s “Golden Whisk Teachers of the Year” for their work with students on healthy nutrition.

Bilingual teachers Flores, a first-grade instructor, and Warshaw, kindergarten, helped Recipe for Success bring its Seed to Plate Education program to Cedar Brook Elementary several years ago.

Recipe for Success is a Houston-based foundation that fights youth obesity by changing the way children understand, appreciate and eat food, and by helping local communities provide healthier diets for their kids.

Two years ago, Flores and Warshaw stepped up when Principal Jeffrey Post asked about interest in the Recipe for Success program. These two teachers are “the heart and soul” of the program, which begins in a school garden outdoors and ends up in kitchen cooking and tasting sessions with students and teacher chefs.

Ms. Flores loves to see students “respond to the challenge of trying new vegetables and foods,” she told the magazine. Student heritage and culture is integrated in this curriculum.

Ms. Warshaw was inspired by a “wonderful opportunity for all students to explore, discover and apply academic and social skills in real-life experiences, making the learning relevant and meaningful to them.”

With the help of parent volunteers Rachel Stinson and Jacinda Woloson, the two teachers have embarked on their second year of the program. Students have even decorated the lunchroom with banners and pictures showcasing recent activities.

The Recipe for Success article states, “With the fun and informative environment these two teachers have created for the Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education students, there is a lot more growing at Cedar Brook than just the vegetables in the garden!”

View the Seed to Plate News article.

To learn more, visit Recipe for Success.