"Thank you! Thank you to the Teacher of the Year committee for this immense honor, and to the Alliance for World-Class Education and this evening's sponsors for this wonderful opportunity to celebrate the field of teaching. We teachers very much appreciate the acknowledgment of the importance of education, and the vital role we play.
Silas and Hayley, thank you for your fabulous introduction. I hope you will always remember tonight and know that you are the reason that we teachers teach: to develop your enormous potential and engage and empower you. Silas, you once said that you wanted to be me when you grew up. Keep up your good work in school, and each of you could be up here one day!
To the Chaffee Trail teachers and staff, you have no idea how very proud I am to represent you, and I thank you for maintaining a culture of family, collaboration, and excellence at our 'fine, fine school!' As you know, one of my roles is to help teachers teach, and your enthusiasm, interest, and tireless devotion to our students makes my job and absolute delight.
To my team, the best resource team in the district, I love you all dearly! As Beverly says, "We're over the top!" and I thank you for being the best at developing the whole child and the whole brain with laughter, fun, and passion.
To Dawn, the best assistant ever, you must know that I couldn't do what I do without you. Thank you for getting to know our students and caring about them, for your excellence in your work, and for your uncanny ability to read my mind!
Maggie and Kathryn, I love being the three musketeers with you! We make an amazing team and I value your insight, input, and hard work. Our talents are multiplied together, and not only does Chaffee Trail benefit from our leadership, but I benefit from knowing each of you. Thank you.
Beverly Walker, as the song says, 'Where you lead, I will follow.' I cannot begin to succinctly express what your support of not only me, but of a strong media program, means to me. Thank you, especially in these times of severe budget cuts, for knowing the impact that a quality school library program has on student achievement, and for making that a priority at Chaffee Trail. You are one in a million, and I thank you for fostering a sense of family, for treating us as professionals, and for making Chaffee Trail such a fun place to work.
Finally, I couldn't have achieved this with out the enormous support of my family. I thank my parents, sister-in-law, nephew, and Marcia, my soul sister, for caring enough to travel here to help me celebrate. My boys, Bryan and Danny, please know how very proud your father and I are of you. You are fine young men, and though you often think I'm crazy for working so hard, I hope one day you realize that when one does purposeful work, it doesn't seem like work at all. Donald, I cannot believe my good fortune when you said yes, you would marry me twenty-one years ago! Thank you for supporting me in all your MANY ways and for realizing that my work matters and for being proud of me, I love you dearly.
Thank you all again. I am blessed to have all your influences shape the person and teacher I am, so in essence, I share this honor with each of you. Thank you."
