By Mersades Freelove, Jaicee Johnson and Priscilla McCauley
“A good teacher is like a candle – it consumes itself to light the way for others.”
– Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
Every year nationwide, a teacher from every school gets elected to the “Teacher Of The Year” title, which acknowledges the hard work and excellence in teaching. It honors those who serve their time, knowledge, love, and support in and outside the classrooms. This award helps to draw attention to driven educators that make schools a better place for students.
Guyer Teacher of the Year award for the 2022-23 school year was given to Mrs. Stephanie Riley, the Advanced Placement Environmental Sciences and Honors Chemistry teacher. Mrs. Riley, a UNT graduate, explored many majors, including French and floral design, before settling on teaching science. She has been teaching at Guyer for 15 years. During her time at Guyer, she was nominated for Teacher of the Year once before.
Teachers within the school submit the Teacher of the Year nominations. They recommend who they believe would be the best fit for this award. Nominees must have at least three years teaching for the Denton school district to be considered for this award. After all nominations are received, the voting starts. Winners of this title may have to wait five years before they can be chosen again.
Mrs. Riley received many glamorous recommendations from her fellow staff members, many of whom described her as generous, selfless, enthusiastic, creative, and more than deserving of the honor of Teacher of the Year. While students around the school shared that Mrs. Riley is a teacher who strives to be engaging and entertaining with her classes, as well as informative, always working hard to connect with students. Undoubtedly, Mrs. Riley is widely loved and appreciated by students and staff.
Mrs. Riley expressed her surprise to hear that she won the award. “I really never expected for this to happen,” “I was more than ecstatic to receive this,” she added. James Kavelish, a student in the AP environmental science class shared, “I love Mrs. Riley; I love her class and everything she provides for us. Not only does she impact other colleagues, but also the students at Guyer.”
Mrs. Riley expressed her love for the teaching profession “Teaching has always been what I enjoy doing, so nothing really leads up to it, just being myself.” She considers education an exciting profession: “Every year is always different from the previous one.” Her advice for aspiring teachers is, “Take it one day at a time.” Instead of being too caught up in ideas and plans for the future, she focuses on the here and now.
Students at school want to give Mrs. Riley the warmest “thank you”, for the time, knowledge, love and support she has given to the school community. She mentioned how unprepared she was for this recognition. But it makes it extra special knowing that she does what she does out of her heart. “It’s humbling and it’s tough to accept because I ask myself, Am I really worthy of that?”
With all that being said, it’s a wonder how this lovely teacher went so long without ever being given the title Teacher of the Year. Despite all the excellent candidates nominated for this award, it’s safe to say Mrs. Riley has earned it!
