Our profession: In great hands!

Last week, the eight finalists for Kansas Teacher of the Year met in Topeka for their annual visit to the Kansas Legislature. One of the most enjoyable parts of that event for me is the pre-visit workshop during which Cyndi Menzel, KNEA Director of Communications works with the Teacher Recognition staff from Kansas State Department of Education to help these excellent teachers begin to craft their message about our profession; begin their new role as spokespersons for our students, our schools, and our work.

This year’s eight member team, led by Cindy Couchman as Teacher of the Year, developed their remarks, delivered powerful messages, and also did an outstanding job of fielding tough questions from both the House and Senate Education Committees. For me, though, the best part of the two days was a luncheon sponsored by KNEA – a chance for the team to meet with several of us to talk about the future of public education, the challenges confronting us, and a shared vision – great public schools for every child, a strong profession, and the well-being of people who work in our schools.

We had a chance to talk about the challenges they face every day in the classroom and hear the passion they bring to their work with students, parents, their teacher colleagues and their communities. It was an honor to meet these outstanding individuals. It is also heartening to know that KNEA is playing a crucial role to provide research, professional development, and a platform for unifying our voices for the good of public education. And we have a fantastic new group of Teacher of the Year voices to add to the chorus.

To learn more about the 2009 KTOY team... http://www.knea.org/news/2009/ktoy09.html