Teachers of the Year go where?

By Anna Mitchell  

MARCH 21, 2010 2:17 p.m. (0)

Every year, one teacher earns the title of Teacher of the Year, an honor that earns him or her $25,000 and a year away from the classroom to recruit and serve as an ambassador for the profession.

A Greenville elementary Spanish teacher – Kelly Nalley – and a Spartanburg District 7 English teacher – Samantha Maddox – are two of five finalists for the honor this year and will learn their fate on April 28.

But if history holds true, whoever wins Teacher of the Year likely won’t return to the classroom – at least not directly.

Out of the 11 men and women who have earned the distinction since 2000, two remain regular classroom teachers and one of those is working for a different district. The remaining teachers have become trainers, curriculum supervisors, administrators or are working for the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement (CERRA) in Rock Hill.

Mychal Frost, spokesman for CERRA, which sponsors the Teacher of the Year program, said winners ideally go back and continue to share their abilities in the classroom. The year they spend away from the classroom is an opportunity few would have otherwise – observing how other schools operate and learning their craft.

Those who end up using their talents to teach other teachers, he said, are helping that many more children.

“They do miss the classroom that year, which is why many of them go back,” Frost said. “A teacher at the end of the day is a teacher.”

Jeanie Reed, a music teacher at Stone Academy, was a finalist for state Teacher of the Year a few years ago and said she has noticed many master and award-winning teachers go on to train and supervise young teachers – though they usually stay in the field in some fashion.

“That is frustrating when they aren’t in the classroom anymore,” Reed said. “It’s frustrating for them, too.”

One of Reed’s former colleagues at Stone – Brett Vaughn – was a Greenville elementary school teacher and instructional coach for nine years before she got a chance to work at CERRA recruiting college students to become teachers. Vaughn now teaches in Spartanburg District 7 schools and is preparing to apply for an administrative job.

She said her eyes were opened to the broader world of education during her three years out of the classroom.

Vaughn, who is the primary breadwinner in her family, said education is her passion, but she also has to consider making a living.

“We don’t pay teachers what they are worth,” Vaughn said. “But it isn’t about money. It’s a calling for me.”

She said she took a huge pay cut going from CERRA back to an elementary school classroom this year – also, her husband returned to school last year and their first child was born. Were it not for a $7,000 stipend she receives for her National Board certification, she said, she could not have afforded to go back into a classroom.

The South Carolina Legislature is seriously considering ending the National Board stipend for teachers effective July 1.

Reed said her son had Vaughn, and he loved her.

“It’s unfortunate sometimes when you see great teachers not directly impacting the student’s lives,” Reed said. “Hopefully they are in a roundabout way.”

Reed said people outside of education often assume a classroom teacher is looking to move on.

“So many people have said, ‘You’re such a great teacher, you should teach high school,’” Reed said. “My philosophy is if you don’t have the best teachers in elementary schools, you won’t need high school teachers because the kids won’t be there.”

Vaughn said she will miss the classroom but also doesn’t want to be contained within those four walls if she can help it.

“That happens to a lot of us,” Vaughn said, “I’ve been given so many opportunities as a teacher and throughout my community, and I wanted my principal to tap into that knowledge.”

Teachers already have a full-time job, she said, and she appreciates that more now that she’s spent a year back in the classroom – observing kids going crazy the weeks of Halloween and Valentines, how much harder work can be on Fridays than Mondays and the crucial relationships forged between teachers and parents.

“If you’d asked me if I’d ever leave the first grade at Stone Academy, I’d say you’re crazy,” Vaughn said. “But my principal encouraged me to step out of the box and be a leader.”

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