Kaitlin Roig-Debellis, a 1st grade teacher at Sandy Hook School in Newtown, was named a Woman of Worth by L’Oreal Paris. The organization she founded after the Sandy Hook tragedy, Classes 4 Classes, will receive $10,000 and she is one of 10 finalists to receive an additional $25,000 award for her cause.
According to Roig-Debellis: Classes 4 Classes actively engages students in learning a social curriculum, not by talking about kindness and empathy, but by living it. It encourages the development of students’ emotional intellect, a key to forming healthy relationships. Classes 4 Classes works with teachers and students in K-5 classes to give a gift that fulfills a need or emotional objective of another class, anywhere in the country. The receiving class, in turn, accepts their gift only after selecting to “pay it forward.” The website alleviates any financial responsibility from the teacher, students, parents or school as all projects are crowd funded in increments of $1.
To vote for Roig-Debellis in the Women of Worth contest, click here.