The Indianapolis Star reported that Zionsville Community Schools of Zionsville, Indiana chose Carrie Sanders as their top districtwide teacher Read that again. The top TEACHER.  What does Carrie Sanders teach, you ask? She is the school media specialist and RESEARCH TEACHER at Zionsville Middle School. That’s right. The school media specialist is a TEACHER. She’s being entered into the selection process for State Teacher of the Year, according to the paper.

She also gets to keep her job. The good citizens of Zionsville failed to pass a referendum for the schools’ general fund last November, leaving the school board with some difficult decisions. Sixteen teachers will be (or have been) RIFed to help balance their budget. In a strange reversal of the Department of Education’s priorities (depriving school libraries to fund math and science initiatives) science and technology teachers will be eliminated at the elementary level. Physical education teachers will also be eliminated. School counseling positions at the middle and high schools will be lost, and the high school’s music department and International Baccalaureate program will lose staff. But not the school libraries.

It’s a tough time to be a teacher, administrator, parent, student, or school board member. There are a lot of hard choices that are having to be made, and unfortunately not every priority gets funded. I really hope that if the Zionsville schools have another referendum that the community will support it. But in spite of the cuts that have had to be made, the board, at least from what I read from the minutes of the meeting where these decisions were made, tried to be respectful of the teachers rather than accusatory. The Los Angeles Unified School District should take note.

And not one person questioned the ability, passion, or legitimacy of Connie Sanders being named Zionsville Community Schools’ teacher of the year. Congratulations, Connie!