To be named Teacher of the Year. What a compliment! Especially when it comes from one’s peers, the people who see you daily. The people who see you on your best days and your worst days. The people who understand what you face and do daily because they face and do the same things.
Each year, eight Mount Pleasant Independent School District teachers receive this compliment from their peers. They are named their Campus Teacher of the Year.
But the accolades don’t end there. From this select group of eight teachers, two are chosen as the District Teachers of the Year.
This choice is not easy. According to the selection committee, drawn from the membership of the Titus County Retired School Personnel Association, this year’s decision, as always, was extremely difficult. They wanted to select everyone, not just one Elementary and one Secondary Teacher. But that is not an option.
But when the discussion was over and the votes counted, a unanimous decision had been reached. Linda Traughber, a 4th Grade Language
Arts teacher at Annie Sims Elementary School, had been named the MPISD Elementary Teacher of the Year and Heather Brown, an 8th Grade History teacher at Mount Pleasant Junior High School, had been named MPISD Secondary Teacher of the Year.
MPISD Elementary Teacher of the Year: Linda Traughber
Linda Traughber grew up in Mt. Pleasant and is a graduate of Mt. Pleasant High School. She earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Elementary Education from East Texas State University (now Texas A&M Commerce). She taught at Annie Sims and Corprew before taking time off to be a stay-at-home mom. When she returned to the workforce, she worked for the Titus County Extension Service for three years then rejoined the staff at Annie Sims. She has been at Sims for the last seven years.
When asked why she became a teacher, Traughber said, “My mom worked as a substitute teacher for several years and would come home and tell interesting stories about the kids and staff she had worked with that day. She had so many positive experiences that it influenced me to get a degree in education.”
Traughber said she loves teaching reading. “At the beginning of the year, I tell my students that they have been learning to read but now they are reading to learn. To back this up, I give them as many unique experiences as possible. We research, we cook, we garden, we incorporate a lot of science and we read. I love to see their faces when they see their first reading growth chart.”
Traughber said that her philosophy of teaching is simple, you must “find a way to help every student reach an achievable goal. Students will work hard if you give them an attainable goal.”
Traughber has two daughters Emilee Capel and Mollee Ferrell.
MPISD Secondary Teacher of the Year: Heather Brown
Heather Brown was born in Mt. Pleasant and grew up in Omaha. She graduated from Paul Pewitt High School and earned her Bachelor’s of Applied Arts – Liberal Arts from Texas A&M Texarkana. She worked at the Region 8 Education Service Center in school operations for five years before joining the District three years ago.
When asked why she became a teacher, Brown said, “After five years in education at Region 8, I decided I wanted to be ‘in the trenches’ of the classroom. I wanted an opportunity to make a difference.”
What does she like most about teaching? “The relationships that develop each year. I get to create relationships and watch them blossom into success.”
She said her philosophy of teaching is that teaching is a strategy that must constantly evolve. “The goal of teaching must be to create the most effective learning environment for all learners. Your strategy should be research-based and it should grow daily. Successful strategies create successful students.”
Brown and her husband, Kary Sears, have two daughters and one son.
Campus Teachers of the Year
The Child Development Center Teacher of the Year is teacher Tracy M. Franklin. She was born and raised in Daingerfield, graduating from Daingerfield High School. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Southern Arkansas University. She worked at Sugar Britches Preschool before joining the Child Development Center in 2001.
When asked why she became a teacher, Franklin said, “I became a teacher because I enjoy young children. I want to make a difference in their lives.”
What Franklin said she likes about teaching is “I love when I am able to help the children succeed. The look on a child’s face after he or she has accomplished something is priceless.”
Of her philosophy of teaching, Franklin said, “The ultimate goal is to help each child reach their full potential. Help each and every child get to the next level.”
The E.C. Brice Elementary School Teacher of the Year is 2nd Grade teacher Rachel Dunn. Born in Paris, she grew up in Sulphur Bluff and graduated high school in Prairieland, the daughter of a coach/principal and superintendent of schools – Sulphur Bluff and Prairieland. She earned her Bachelor’s from Texas A&M University Commerce. She has been with the District for two years.
When asked why she became a teacher, Dunn said, “to show every child I meet they can be great and they are loved.”
What she likes most about teaching is “being active and having a positive impact on each child I meet.”
Dunn said her philosophy of teaching is “if you are happy to teach and create a safe, loving environment then each student will be happy to learn.”
Dunn and her husband Nick, a Mt. Pleasant firefighter, have two children.
The Corprew Elementary School Teacher of the Year is Physical Education teacher/MPHS Assistant Track Coach Angelica Beard. Coach Beard was tragically killed in a car accident earlier this Spring.
The Vivian Fowler Elementary School Teacher of the Year is Kindergarten Dual Language teacher Patsie DeSantiago. Born in California, she moved to Mt. Pleasant in 1999. She is a graduate of Mt. Pleasant High School, Northeast Texas Community College and earned her Bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University Texarkana. She has been with the District 12 years, spending 11 years at the CDC and the last year at Fowler.
DeSantiago said she became a teacher because she believes that “teachers have the opportunity to mold the future and in Early Childhood we form the foundation of their educational career.”
What she enjoys most about teaching? “I love when my kids master a goal and it isn’t from the teaching but through their own exploration.”
On her philosophy of teaching, DeSantiago said, “I am to teach with passion no matter the demographics or challenges in my class. I am to expect great things from my children in the class and out. I am to plan instruction to challenge all of my children through ‘hands-on life-long learning’. I am to inspire my children to love learning.”
DeSantiago and her husband Juan have three children.
The Teacher of the Year at P.E. Wallace Middle School is P.E./Health teacher Dona Elliott. She was born in Gainesville and grew up in Mt. Pleasant. She earned her Bachelor’s from Texas A&M Commerce and began her teaching career at Chapel Hill in 1989. She joined the District in 1997 teaching 6th grade Social Studies at Wallace. After nine years, she moved to the P.E. Health Department.
Elliott became a teacher when her sons were young so she could “feel more involved in what they were learning.”
When asked what she likes about teaching she said, “As a P.E. teacher I am able to interact with the students in a setting that makes them feel more at ease with learning.”
Of her philosophy of teaching, Elliot said, “I believe that students learn best when they enjoy what they are learning. I believe that challenging and motivating the students to want to do better is a teacher’s primary goal. A teacher should make learning a pleasant experience, not necessarily ‘fun’ every time but should always provide students with a sense of accomplishment.”
Elliott has three sons and ten grandchildren.
The Teacher of the Year at Mount Pleasant High School is English Teacher Regina Crouch. She was born in Louisiana and, since her father was in the Army moved a lot as a child. She spent nine years in Germany then lived in several other states until her dad retired her senior year in high school and they moved to Texas. She graduated from Hardin High School, earned a Bachelor’s degree in English from Texas A&M University and a Master’s in Education from U-T Arlington. She came to work for the District 14 years ago.
Crouch said she became a teacher because of a teacher she had. “My senior year in high school I had a history teacher that had taught my mother and my grandmother. Miss Lily Hilliard brought history alive with her stories and I was hooked. I decided then I wanted to be a history teacher. While attending college, I chose to become an English teacher.”
What she likes most about teaching is “the kids.”
When asked her philosophy of teaching, Crouch said, “No matter what circumstances a kid may come from, they deserve an education with educators that care. Every child deserves the same education across the board, and any kid can learn. It’s up to us to figure out how to make that happen.”
Crouch and her husband Michael have six children between them.
These teachers have advice for young people, or anyone, considering a career in teaching. Most agree that teaching is rewarding, challenging and not a 9 to 5 job. They challenge new teachers to treat students as individuals, to expect great things from their students and to have fun. In their own words they say:
“Be prepared to work hard,” Elliott said. “Remember that teaching is not about you, it is about your students. Get to know your content inside and out because that is what your students will depend on you for. The hard work will pay off when you see your students succeed.”
DeSantiago said, “There will be days that are really close and days you will doubt your decision to teach. I promise you will see more wonderful than doubtful days. This is not a ‘job’ where you punch a time clock. To teach is to connect with a child for life. Always remember the students are the most important.”
Franklin echoed this advice when she said “You have to be willing to stay in it no matter what. Not all days will be the best, but the end result is what counts. You must care about what you are doing and always show respect to each child. Gain their trust.”
Traughber agrees. “Make sure you have a love for children, patience, knowledge and creativity. It is not a 9 to 5 job and sometimes it is overwhelming. But when you realize that you are in the company of great educators like Annie Sullivan, Maria Montessori and Jaime Escalante, you will understand that you have chosen a noble profession.”
Dunn advice? “If you are passionate about helping kids become the best they can be then do it. If you have any other reasons that come before this one, you may want to rethink it.”
Brown would tell them,” One of the most important jobs anyone can have is educating our future. To do that successfully create relationships, love your students, all of them, through the good, the bad and the ugly.”
“These teachers exemplify what is good about public education, what is good about Mount Pleasant ISD schools,” said MPISD Superintendent of Schools Judd Marshall. “They care about their students. They go the extra mile. They serve as role models for their students and for their colleagues. They give of themselves daily to make sure all of our students receive the best possible education. We are blessed that they have chosen to work for MPISD.”
The Mount Pleasant ISD Teachers of the Year were recognized at the May 22 Board of Trustees meeting and honored at the End-of-Year Breakfast Friday, May 26, 2017.