Teachers of the Decade

Amidst the construction, chaos and general confusion, teachers have been taking a sweet break. Throughout the past few months, however, several teachers have won awards for being, well, themselves. Students, parents, and other teachers alike have chosen to recognize these people, who they believe are heads and tails above the rest from around the area. From History Day to social media, these teachers have gone above and beyond, bettering their students and making sure that they always “learn something”.

The first award that was given was for the National History Day competition, a research contest that Seabury seventh and ninth grade work hard to enter with some sort of video, essay, exhibit, play, or website. Faculty member Sonja Czarnecki won the Kansas History Day Best Teacher award in the Senior Division, the highest award for teachers in the state. Czarnecki never thought she would win this award because she thinks that “there are a lot of really amazing, deserving teachers who are in District 1.” So how did she feel when she received the award? “I was really honored.” Of course, she didn’t do this by herself: “[I want to thank] my students, who made me look good. They deserve all the credit.”

Not long after that, Midco recognized a Seabury teacher as “Educator of the Month” after a county-wide search. Faculty member Sara Asher won that honor in February during morning meeting. But that was not all; she attended a ceremony where all nine of the teachers nominated for the award were honored and the winner was crowned. Asher placed second in the county. She was quite surprised when she realized that she had won: “We don’t really have a culture of ‘Best Teacher of the Year’ here at Seabury, because we’re all the best teachers, all the time, so I was really happy. It was really cool.” She also has some inspirational words to say about teaching: “We just want to help students. That’s just what we do. It’s our job to help others, but especially students, because they have been entrusted in our care.”

More recently, one Seabury faculty member also made an appearance in the “Best of Lawrence” competition, run by the Lawrence Journal-World. Faculty member Betsy Alford won the Best of Lawrence award for an administrative assistant of a nonprofit, government agency or group. When she learned that she would receive the award, she was shocked: “That was for the whole city, and for me to win out of all of the hundreds of administrative assistants in the whole city, that was pretty incredible.” She has a lot of people to thank for this award: “I want to thank all the students and all the teachers and all the parents who voted for me because if nobody had voted I wouldn’t have won.”

The most recent award, however, is something no one expected to happen. It seems that teachers can now win awards not only for their in-classroom skills but also for being social media stars. Faculty member Krista Barbour won an award from KB and Co. Cooperative Boutique Shop for the most votes from students. She was surprised when someone nominated her for this contest. “My really good friend nominated me first,” says Barbour, “and then, of course, I was like ‘Heck yeah, I want to win,’ so I advertised it on my Instagram, and I was like, ‘Hey kids, vote for me’, and they did.” She was totally shocked when she discovered she won: “I didn’t know I had won until Kristie walked in with Balloons and flowers like I was on ‘Ellen’, and I was half embarrassed and half super pumped.” With the prize, she won a $100 gift card to the boutique. So what did she buy with the money? “I bought a really cute beret, really cool patches to put on my jumpsuit and a pair of striped pants, because you know I can’t say no to a stripe.”

These teachers have been working their butts off, and for them to be awarded is a testament to the greatness of the school. Although all of our great teachers deserve to be recognized for their daily excellence, these teachers were chosen to be honored. Congratulations to all these teachers, and we hope that all of you keep striving for greatness.