LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Makeda-lone Brome was nominated by her colleague, Kerry Padrick.

Ms. Brome is a stellar instructional mathematics coach at Fort Pierce Westwood High School and St. Lucie County's Teacher of the Year.  She has proven herself to be selfless and an inspiration to the students and teachers with whom she works. Ms. Brome voluntarily moved from a high performing magnet school to a title school because she felt she could make a positive difference in the lives of students whose challenges are many, whose needs are great, and – more importantly -- whose potential for success is boundless. According to her administrators and peers, she is making a difference as evidenced by her high school’s increasing learning gains, escalating mathematics pass rates, and surging graduation rate, which sits at 91.7%, nearly 30 percent above its benchmark four years ago.

Ms. Brome is dedicated to helping others achieve excellence in pursuit of personal goals. She models best practices in classrooms, leads collaborative planning sessions, tutors students, and spearheads Algebra 1 and Geometry Boot Camps for students before and after school. Her expertise in a wide array of mathematics practices and keen ability to share this knowledge with others makes this energetic educator a leader among her peers. Within her District, Ms. Brome is a teacher-leader who stands out as a professional development facilitator. At the state level, she was selected to be a math content specialist for the Florida Department of Education, where she reviews and revises Florida’s certification and professional exams.

Ms. Brome gets her inspiration from her students and colleagues throughout the campus. Everything she does is because she wants to serve others and see them experience success in all aspects of their lives. She takes to heart the fact that students must learn and retain required mathematics to be successful in the next course, in college, and beyond. She believes that students cannot succeed if teachers haven't succeeded. Therefore, she uses a variety of teaching styles and instructional tools to help others learn new concepts. She is inspired to be the best she can be so that she, in turn, can help others realize the potential within them to become the best versions of themselves.

"Ms. Makeda-Ione Brome proves herself time and time again to be exemplary. I can think of no other representative to serve as a model for LifeChanger of the Year. She is most deserving of this great honor," says Ms. Padrick.