When she starts talking about attending Comic-Cons and the authors, artists and actors she's met, even befriended, Jeni DeFeo shifts from a statistics-spouting teacher to a giddy school girl.
She is both. DeFeo has taught for 14 years and she's been growing her comic book enthusiasm the past five years.
A versatile and energetic teacher, DeFeo's use of heroes and out-of-the-box thinking afforded her the Jefferson City Public Schools 2011 Teacher of the Year title, announced Thursday night.
This weekend, DeFeo will be speak at the Boston comic convention. It's her second speaking engagement about using "Comics in Education."