Key Club members are stepping it up this year, and going to a place that no other club has gone.

With a $400 grant, the club has been given an opportunity to sponsor a teacher of the month program. This grant will recognize 10 teachers over the course of the year.

“It was pretty well thought out. We were talking about it for almost half the year last year before we put it into effect,” Key Club President Scott Hill said. Hill said he enjoys the fact that the teacher is student selected.

According to Student Body President Tim Seery, the teacher of the month will receive a $40 gift card, a certificate, and a privileged parking spot. Seery was chosen to present the award each month at a staff meeting. Also, an announcement will be made about the teacher receiving the certificate.

Physics teacher Mike Lathrop, the advisor of Key Club, said he hopes that the new program will give students a chance to really appreciate their teachers. The recipient will be selected by students, and reviewed by a teacher committee. Each month a different club, sport, or class of students will have the chance to vote on which teacher they think best meets the criteria. Then, the teacher with the most votes will be reviewed by the committee.

The selection will be based on the quality of the good things written about the teacher, not the quantity of votes they receive. Once voted on, the teacher will receive a letter from Lathrop explaining the reasons why they were chosen.

“That’s what will really touch the heart,” Lathrop said.

On Sept. 14, Health Occupations teacher Christi Virts was presented with the award. Teachers who are voted once are not eligible to be voted again until the end of the year. For the last month of the grant, a teacher of the year will be selected. This final vote will be available to all students who go to CMR. Lathrop said that he wants kids to be informed about this program and to vote for the teacher of the year.

“This is real. We are really doing this,” Lathrop said.