Congratulations to Our 2013 Teacher of the Year Finalists!

Brentwood 2nd Graders cheer for their teacher!

On this rainy spring morning, it felt like I was bringing sunshine to three teachers who are the sun in their classrooms. These three terrific teachers were chosen as Austin ISD’s 2013 Teachers of the Year for elementary school, middle school and high school.

Being selected as a Teacher of the Year is one of the highest honors in AISD. Each year, one of the finalists is named Austin Teacher of the Year and selected to serve as the district’s nominee for the Texas Teacher of the Year. This year’s finalist will be named May 14 during the district’s Salute event, when we will recognize many of our most outstanding staff members.

The 2013 Teachers of the Year are:

Brentwood Principal Katherine Williams-Carter and I congratulate Elementary Teacher of the Year Sloan McLain.

“Sloan” McLain, Elementary School Teacher of the Year, is a second grade teacher at Brentwood Elementary School. She  teaches core content by incorporating creative techniques, such as arts-integration, themes and life skills, to help students develop into socially responsible, world citizens. Most recently, she and her students demonstrated arts-integration in action by presenting during Austin ISD’s launch of the Any Given Child Initiative. (I blogged about these talented students on October 26, 2012 in the entry "Any Given Child Takes Off!")

McLain joined Austin ISD in 2004 and has 12 years of teaching experience. Her grandfather was a superintendent in Ohio during the great Depression, and both of his daughters went on to pursue teaching careers.

Murchison Principal Sammi Harrison helped congratulate Middle School Teacher of the YearAlexa Humberson.

Alexa Humberson, Middle School Teacher of the Year, joined Murchison Middle School in 2006, and currently serves as a Social Communication Resources and Services teacher in the school’s special education department. She has been a Teacher of the Year nominee on her campus the past three years.



Humberson also created community-based learning trips to off-campus sites, such as the grocery store, so her students can practice social skills in real-life settings. Another program she helped create pairs students with special needs with students in the school’s International Baccalaureate program, who act like mentors.

Sarah Dille, High School Teacher of the Year, has been a teacher for 13 years and teaches English and writing to 9th-11th grade students at Crockett High School. Dille, who comes from a family of educators, said she was born to be a teacher.

Crockett Principal Craig Shapiro doesn't miss an opportunity to brag about Sarah Dille.

Dille, whose own writing has appeared in the New York Times and Huffington Post, said a few times she has considered other careers, such as writing full-time or becoming a lawyer.

“But nothing else feels quite like the ground under my feet in my classroom,” she said. “Nothing else fulfills me and challenges me quite like the art of teaching.”

Words like these inspire our best teachers every day, and Ms. McLain, Ms. Humberson, and Ms. Dille are among the best of the best. Congratulations!