Anne Allen • Tates Creek Elementary, Art

"Teaching art and working with children provides an opportunity to explore creative expression daily. I am constantly intrigued with the originality and enthusiasm of T.C.E. students. They allow me the honor of sharing ideas in the art room, while making connections to the world around us through the visual arts. I love my job and never have an uneventful day. Teaching gives me the insight and ability to see through a child’s perspective and joy of life."

Chuck Dean • Paul Laurence Dunbar, Spanish

"Education is the opportunity to alleviate ignorance and while there is no shame in being ignorant, there is in remaining so."

Neva Etter • Millcreek Elementary School, School Technology Resource Teacher

"Many students have passed through the door of my classroom over the years teaching me as much or more, at times, than I will ever be able to teach them. My desire is that I have instilled in each student a love of learning and that they leave my classroom with the tools they will need to be life long learners. As partners in the educational process, I thank each parent who has entrusted me to take part in a small portion of their child’s life. Paraphrasing Haim Ginott, 'I am the decisive element in the classroom. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. My daily mood does make the weather. As a teacher I possess tremendous power to inspire, humiliate or humor, hurt or heal; and, in all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated, and a child humanized or de-humanized.'"

Larry Fletcher • IAKSS, Southside Technical Center, Electricity

"Education is the sum total of all life's experiences".

Pattie Rowland • Crawford Middle School, Math

"Middle schoolers are a strange breed. One day a student will display maturity far beyond their years; the next day they act like they are still 5 years old. That’s one of the things I enjoy about teaching this age group. It is never a dull moment as I never know what will come next, a great insight or a whiny complaint. On the outside they may act and talk tough, but underneath they’re marshmallows. It is a real challenge, and I like a challenge.

"One of my favorite quotes is attributed to Plato: 'You can learn more about a person in one hour of play than in a day of conversation.'"