Five Logan County educators received top accolades Thursday after being nominated for their excellence in the classroom, and considering the unusual end to the 2019-20 school year, for their creative instructional methods employed during distance learning.
Quest Federal Credit Union’s 2020 Teacher of the Year Awards were presented to honorees Pam Scarpella from Indian Lake Schools; Cody Sigrist from Bellefontaine City Schools; Stacey Fauley from Riverside Schools; Shannon Peterson from Benjamin Logan Schools; and Lindsay Wyan from the Ohio Hi-Point Career Center, during a luncheon at Bella Vino.
Matt Jennings, Quest CEO, said the credit union began the Teacher of the Year Award program in 2019 after a request from board member Ed Rogers, an Indian Lake Schools teacher. Rogers had noted that the former Bellefontaine Rotary Club’s Excellence in Teaching Awards program had just ended after recognizing numerous teachers over many years.
“Ed came us to asking if we could continue this program, and we’re very happy to do so,” Jennings said. “We want to recognize all of the dedicated work of our teachers in the community and for everything they do to prepare our students for the future.”
This past spring, Jennings said he was impressed with the way local educators hit the ground running to develop plans for remote assignments when the schools were shut down suddenly in mid-March as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It was amazing to watch the teachers pull together a whole new plan of how they would teach their students in just one weekend,” he said. “We greatly appreciate their efforts during such an uncertain time.”
Current and former students, parents, co-workers and community members could fill out an online nomination form, and Rogers said the award selection committee enjoyed reading through the submissions.
“We especially thought it was fun to see what the kids have to say, and some of them made us laugh,” he said, noting that the board members who serve on that committee also are educators. “The kids are always so honest.”
During the luncheon, the Quest CEO read comments from the nominators for each award winners.
Business teacher Wyan, a 15-year educator who has worked at Riverside for a total of 12 years, with seven of those years spent as an OHPCC satellite teacher, was nominated by her student Allison Buchenroth.
“Mrs. Wyan is dedicated to helping her students not just in the classroom, but also with Business Professionals of America activities. Her classes are so much fun and she makes them very enjoyable. She takes the extra time outside of school to help with anything.”
A Lehman High School graduate and Bowling Green State University graduate, Wyan said she enjoys the BPA adviser role for the chance to “put purpose into our classroom and real life experiences.”
Peterson, a 2010 Benjamin Logan High School graduate, said she just completed her fifth year working at Benjamin Logan Middle School. Her first four years were spent as a sixth-grade language arts teacher, and last year, she was a fifth-grade science teacher, a role she thoroughly enjoyed.
“I previously had my heart set on teaching math, but now I started teaching science, and I just love it.”
She was nominated by a parent, who said Mrs. Peterson “is an amazing teacher who truly cares about her students.
“She goes above and beyond, taking the time before or after school to help her students. This does not apply to just the subject she is teaching, but she is there for them as a mentor in any aspect of their lives. She will go to their extracurricular events to support them as well.”
Bellefontaine High School freshmen physical science teacher Sigrist said he just completed his sixth year working for Bellefontaine City Schools. A 2008 BHS graduate himself, he said he loves working with ninth-graders.
“It is just such a pivotal time in high school, and you can have such a big influence of kids at this age,” the Ohio State University graduate said. “I like having the opportunity to get the kids to like school and also to like science.”
His nominators included two of his students, both of whom said he takes the time to talk to each of the individual students in his classes.
“He is a teacher that cares about his students and he makes his class fun,” Summer Conner said.
Fauley and Scarpella were not in attendance at the awards program, but staff members from their respective schools accepted the awards on their behalf.
An Indian Lake Elementary School third-grade math/social studies/science teacher, Scarpella was nominated by her co-worker Justin Welker.
“Not only does Pam have a full-time job of teaching third-grade, but she also is the district PBIS coordinator, leads the Tier I and 2 PBIS teams at the elementary, is on the Building Leadership Team, and organizes and runs the community and family game nights at least twice a year. She does it all!”
Riverside chemistry, physics and chemistry II teacher Mrs. Fauley was nominated by a student, who related that the instructor gives her pupils a boost to do the best that they can.
“Her teaching technique is more of the introduction to a concept and then let the students loose,” her nominator wrote. “This gives the students the option to ask about what they know and don’t know. It lets the students decide what grade they want and it prepares them for college and the future.”
(Pam Scarpella and Stacey Fauley not pictured, not present at awards program)