- Olathe Public Schools
- 2024 News Articles
- 2017 News Articles
News & Information
Page Navigation
12-8-17 — Award Nominees Share Thoughts about Education
Dec. 8, 2017 ~ Three outstanding educators in the Olathe Public Schools have been nominated for statewide teaching honors. A selection committee reviewed classroom video and interviews with nine candidates for three different awards: 2019 Kansas Teacher of the Year Award (Elementary and Secondary categories) and 2019 Emporia State University Master Teacher Award.
The following are excerpts from interview questions posed to the teachers in the semifinalist stage of the district’s nomination process.
Christie Williams, fourth-grade teacher at Brougham Elementary School, Kansas Teacher of the Year (elementary) nominee
Teaching is an important career in Williams’ family. Her mother and three of her grandparents were educators. “I believe I was born to be an educator,” she said. “I’m 17 years into it and it’s still the best job. “
She considers one of her great accomplishments to be the time when a former student, now in eighth grade, visited when she received the Educator Excellence (E2) award from the Olathe Public Schools Foundation. He commented that he knew he was a challenge for Williams, but he always knew she loved him.
“Every child needs to feel safe and loved,” Williams said. “I believe that if kids are engaged and they know you care, and they know they’re safe, that you are going to have a successful school year.”
To accomplish that, Williams works to get to know her students through individual and small group meetings. A class meeting every day gives students a chance to share the good things and challenges in their lives.
As a veteran teacher, Williams has a few simple words of advice for someone coming into the field: share, get advice, borrow ideas, don’t feel isolated. “Teachers need other teachers,” she said.
David Shoemaker, eighth-grade math teacher at Prairie Trail Middle School, Kansas Teacher of the Year (secondary) nominee
Shoemaker began his college years as an engineering major because he likes science, but soon realized he enjoyed helping classmates with their math homework. That was when he changed his major to education.
Looking back on his years in the classroom, Shoemaker believes his greatest accomplishment is improving his interpersonal skills.
“My greatest accomplishment is going from just being a math teacher to what I think is more important, someone whose students know he care about them,” he said. “They know I want the best for them inside and outside of the classroom.”
In his classroom, Shoemaker expects his students to work hard, and said, ‘I’m going to work hard for them as well.” That two-way street also applies to his interaction with fellow educators. He enjoys working with them and learning from them.
This experienced teacher has a few words of advice for someone just starting as a teacher: “Don’t be overconfident coming in. Be willing to learn from your mistakes. Be willing to use other people’s resources. Always think you can find some way to do better.”
Amy Stolz, administrator of the Olathe Advanced Technical Center, Emporia State Master Teacher nominee
“I always knew I wanted to be a teacher,” Stolz said. Maybe living next door to an elementary school had something to do with her career dreams, but Stolz played school in the basement of her childhood home and “taught” neighborhood children.
“I explored other areas but ended up in education,” she said. Throughout her 25 years in the district, Stolz has been a teacher, instructional resource teacher, and administrator.
“Through all of those experiences, I feel like I’ve had accomplishments that helped me build to who I am today and what I can offer my staff and students,” she said.
She appreciates how the career-technical programs at OATC have an opportunity to hear from industry leaders about what students need to learn in school to prepare them for their career options. She’s always looking for new ways, new things, and new strategies that will help her staff and students.
Above all, Stolz believes “Make sure you know your students and staff, and care for them each and every day. Focus on the people part of the job.”