Durant Teachers of the Year for each school site were honored during a meeting last week of the Durant Board of Education.
The teachers are, Misty Cedillo, Washington Irving; Helena Guidry, middle school; Sarah Baskin, George Washington; Lindsey Kaler, Northwest Heights; Sharla Mullens, intermediate school; Becky Coker, Robert E. Lee, and Leaann Wyrick, high school.
Superintendent Mark Moring thanked everyone present to recognize the teachers.
“This is always one of my most favorite times of the year because we recognize the people that are cream of the crop of their job and you guys in here are because you’ve been voted that way by your peers,” Moring said. “So, we just want to recognize you.
“Teaching has never been an easy profession. It’s really, really difficult and I Googled a couple things that teachers have to go and do and stuff. It’s not always fun. Some of the things behind the scenes that they have to do.”
Moring spoke of the legislatively mandated things teachers have to learn, including alcohol and drug awareness, bullying prevention, mental health needs of students and suicide awareness.
“Each and everyone of you in here are Teachers of the Year because of how you care for your kids and that’s what is the most important thing because kids won’t learn, kids won’t do for you unless they know that you care for them,” Moring said. “So, when you can establish that relationship, and you can care for them, that’s when true authentic learning takes place.”
Moring talked about the hoops they jumped through before being able to become a teacher and the importance of the training teachers are required to have.
“If it wasn’t important, our legislators wouldn’t tell us that we needed to do that stuff,” Moring said. “A lot of it is very important. What do you do in a classroom when a child has a bleed or something. It’s very important, but you’re here to make a better life, a better world for our kids and there is no better calling than or better profession than being a teacher because everything that we own disappears.
“Everything that we own goes away at the end of our life, but you can leave a little bit of you with that child. So, thank you so much for what everyone in here contributes to our profession. I want to thank you from the board. I want to thank you from fellow administrators, your fellow teachers, our community and our students. Even though you’re students, even that unruly one won’t always say thank you but I will tell you it’s always that unruly one that you see in the grocery store that comes straight up to you faster than anybody else and wants to talk to you and you give them your time so thank you from the bottom of my heart.
“Each one of us got into this profession because somebody had an influence on our life, so let’s continue to be the influence on their lives … The best thing that we can do as teachers is to see that person come back seven, eight, ten years down the road and see that they they’re a productive citizen, they have a great family, and you can feel a little bit a part of that.”
A meal was served and each teacher received a goodies bag from Dr. Pepper and Sodexo provided each of them with $125 checks. The school district presented $100 per school site, and the teachers received ceremonial bells.
In other agenda items, the board approved $325 Christmas bonuses for all eligible contracted employees prorated upon attendance.
The board approved the following new employments: Lou Ann Mullens, part-time special education teacher; Kimberley Bush, ELA and math teacher at DIS; Stuart Pearson, special education teacher at WI; Amberlyn Walsworth, elementary teacher at WI; Crystal Phillips, special education teacher assistant at DIS; Jorlyn Cobbs, kindergarten teacher assistant at NWH; Danielle Paddor, first-grade teacher assistant at NWH; Irma Raygadas, special education teacher assistant at WI, and Flavil George, transportation employee.
