AP Psychology teacher Heidi Gipple was nominated for the Kansas Teacher of the Year Award and biology teacher Cameron Hora was nominated for the Kansas Horizon Award during school on Aug. 22. The administration team decided who to nominate within the school, and from there these teachers have the opportunity to win the regional, state and national competitions.
To qualify for the Kansas Teacher of the Year award, KTOY, the nominee has to be teaching for a minimum of five years, according to the award’s sponsor, the Kansas State Department of Education, KSDE. The applicant has to submit video interviews and written nomination forms for a review board to judge. The first step is to try and win in the regional competition, where the regions correspond to Kansas’s four U.S. congressional districts. If the teacher wins this section of the competition, they earn a cash prize, presented by the Security Benefit in Topeka, and continue to compete against the other regional finalists in the state competition. The winner will receive the Hubbard Foundation KTOY Ambassadorship allowing them to help promote education, among other awards. After winning KTOY, the teacher has the opportunity to win National Teacher of the Year, sponsored by the Council of Chief State School Officers, CCSSO.
This year, the administration selected Gipple as their nominee for Blue Valley Northwest and went to tell her the news during a class. According to Gipple, she was completely surprised but thankful for the recognition she received from the administration.
“It’s always an honor to be nominated. But, you know, we don’t [teach] like expecting awards and accolades. You do this because you love it and you love working with students,” Gipple said.
According to Gipple, she would not have been able to earn this nomination without her students, genuine love for the content, collaboration with other psychology teachers and the support of the people who work at Northwest.
“It’s just the environment is so positive that it makes me want to continue to work hard,” Gipple said.
In her teaching journey from starting as a middle school teacher to now as a high school teacher, Gipple said she is glad she stuck with teaching.
“It means a lot to have come from or seen some things that in college that I was like, ‘Oh, you know,’ [the professors] just weren’t very excited or passionate about education. And [knowing] on the other side, that this is what I was meant to do,” Gipple said.
Along with the Teacher of the Year nomination, the administration also awarded the Kansas Horizon Award to second-year teacher Hora. To qualify for this award, also sponsored by KSDE, the nominee must be a new teacher, meaning they have completed only one year of teaching in their career. The decision is based on essay questions and letters of recommendation, and if Hora wins the regional competition, he will be recognized at the Kansas Exemplary Educators Network and be one of the guest speakers at the network’s two-day conference in February.
Hora was teaching a class today when he received the award and said he was surprised when the administrators stopped by to give him the award.
“I saw [the administrators] outside my room, but I didn’t think it was going to be for me, so when they came in, I was just super shocked and happy to be recognized,” Hora said.
As far as the rest of the competition goes, Hora said he is just happy to be nominated and is thankful for the appreciation and recognition for his work at the beginning of his career.
“It’s probably just a little more confirmation that I’m doing the right thing and that [the] first year went well to other people, it seems, not just [to] myself,” Hora said.
