Teacher of the Year finalists announced
As one educator steps into her role as Oklahoma Teacher of t he Year, 1 2 others have been named as finalists for the 2020 award.
2019 state Teacher of the Year Becky Oglesby announced the finalis ts Tuesday before a packed auditorium at South moore High School. Educators from across the state attended workshops and heard an address from state schools Superintendent Joy H of meister at EngageOK on t he Road during the multi-day conference' s final stop in Moore.
The 2 020 Teacher of the Year will be named on Sept. 17 at State Fair Park in Oklahoma City.
Oglesby, an elementary art teacher from Yukon Public Schools, began full-time 2019 Teacher of the Year duties July 1, though she was named as the honoree last fall.
As an education ambassador, Ogles by will em bark on a year away from the classroom, focusing on speaking engagements, prof essi on al development and col l aboration with the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
Her advocacy pl atform falls back on a unique collection of superhero items, which decorate her classroom at Ranchwood Elementary.
“I've collected Batman memorabilia since I was 8 years old ,” Ogles by said. “Just grabbing onto that and helping teachers understand that they area hero. I think a lot of times teachers just think everybody does the things (they do), that everybody buys coats for kids, everybody pays for field trips, that that's a normal thing, but teachers don' t realize that makes them heroic.”
2020 finalist Jen a Nelson, a Deer Creek Middle School composition and academic enhancement teacher, credits public educ ati on with saving her life and inspiring her future. Her public school teachers encouraged her to accomplish what no one in her family had ever done — attend college.
“I needed a safe place,” Nelson said. “Not only did I have a safe place in my school, I had teachers who encouraged me. I had teachers who valued me.
“That's why I wanted to teach, just to give back to what was given to me.”
For Liz Hoggatt, teaching might as well have been in her blood.
The Norman High School English teacher comes from a lineage of public school educators, including her mother, aunt and grandmother.
If selected as Teacher of the Year, Hoggatt said her platform would focus on giving students, particularly in high schools, a voice and choice in the classroom.
“Making their voice relevant and matter in the classroom is so important because a lot of them don't have that at home,” Hoggatt said. “They need a place where they' re safe and where they can voice what they feel and what they believe.”
Car a Bower man was also among the three finalists representin gt he Oklahoma City metro ar ea. Bowerman has taught art for six years at Edmond North High School, where she also coaches girls' cross country and track teams.
Bow er man adopted the artistic metaphor “Make Your Mark” f or her potential Oklahoma Teacher of the Year platform. The slogan applies across all skill sets, even for those who believe they “can't draw a straight line,” she said.
Bowerman said teaching requires constant awareness of t he effect educators have on individual students. She challenged people of any career, not only education, to have the same mindfulness through “Make Your Mark.”
“It' s the attitude of seeing yourself as an artist in your own life ,” she said .“Your marks being your actions and creating your masterpiece, which is that future that you envision for yourself, whether you're a teacher or a student or a regular person.”