Every school year a teacher on the campus receives the honor of being named Teacher of the Year. Teachers nominate their fellow coworkers, and the three teachers who receive the most nominations are placed on the ballot. Then the faculty votes again and the teacher who receives the most votes becomes Teacher of the Year.

The three teachers on the ballot for the 2011-12 school year were Stephanie Bonneau, Stephanie Shackelford and the winner Catherine McGuinness.

“It is a great honor to have won, I was certainly not expecting it because there are a lot of teachers that I felt were very deserving of the honor,” McGuinness said. “It is so great to know that my hard work is getting noticed, but I never expected it.”

As Teacher of the Year, McGuinness will give a speech at this year’s Teachers Choice Awards.

“As teachers we are so used to speaking in front of people,” McGuinness said. “If you give me a room full of students I got it, but to have to speak in front of my peers is nerve wracking.”

McGuinness says the Teacher of the Year winner should go the extra mile for the classroom and be very involved.

“So many of the teachers on staff have been doing this for some many years, so I am still looking to them and what they are doing and stealing ideas from them,” McGuinness said. “Now I am having to tell them to listen to me, and I am very stressed about that.”

[update]

Three secondary teachers were selected as finalists for the Teacher of the Year award. Mrs. McGuinness was one of them.
Click here to get a closer look at Mrs. McGuinness’ classroom.