Choir members quietly gathered in choir teacher Sheree Stoppel’s room during first block on Thursday, March 12 to surprise her with the announcement that she had won the De Soto district teacher of the year award. Stoppel is now in the process of applying for the semi-final portion of the teacher of the year competition. Winners will be invited to a banquet in September and will then advance to the state level.

Stoppel said she was suspicious of the announcement.

“I was mysteriously called to the office and [district spokesman] Alvie Cater was there and he started asking me questions about our concert that we had done that week with the guest composer which seemed legit at the time, but thirty minutes later when he was asking me random questions about my life, that’s when I thought this is bogus.” Stoppel said. “I still had no clue that my room was full of students. That was so surprising.”

According to senior Brienna Kendall, Stoppel won teacher of the year because of the different styles of teaching she uses.

“She’s always looking for a new way to teach which I really appreciate,” Kendall said. “She wants to help [her students] learn in the best way possible and she is always looking for new strategies.”

Stoppel said she would like to see a fine arts teacher as teacher of the year.

“I don’t know how far I can personally make it and it’s no big deal. I just want to see a fine arts person go as far as possible in the state process,” Stoppel said. “We’re very much the minority in the education system and it would just be very cool to see that minority represented as teacher of the year.”

Kendall said that Stoppel works hard to create lasting relationships with her students.

“I’ve had [Mrs. Stoppel] for every single class that she has taught and you can just tell that she really wants to do what’s best for her students,” Kendall said. “She goes out of her way to provide for them and she cares for them on a deeper level than most teachers.”

According to Stoppel, the most rewarding part of teaching is seeing her students grow over time.

“I am blessed in what I teach that I get to see a result of the teaching process through performance. I get to see them change from a freshman to a senior and there’s more of a lifelong connection in what I teach,” Stoppel said. “I love watching the change and the progress they make. “