Keller named District Teacher of Year

WORLAND – West Side Elementary fifth-grade teacher Vanessa Keller was shocked to learn during the Washakie County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees meeting that she had been named the both the Master Teacher by the board, and earning the nod for WCSD No. 1 Teacher of the Year.

"I am incredibly humbled," Keller said. "There are so many other deserving teachers in this district, and I feel like there should be so many other people to get it."

Keller comes from a family of educators, as she has had a great-grandpa, grandma, mom, aunts, uncles and cousins as educators, with her mom even winning the Bell Ringer award in Worland as well.

SCHOLASTIC EVENTS

Keller has had a large impact on students through events that she was able to put on through organizations. She said she would not have been able to do this had she not started reaching out to other teachers on Instagram beginning a few years ago after she had a rough teaching year.

Through her connection on Instagram, Keller was able to get into contact with a representative from Scholastic and host a book talk with Judy Newman which eventually led to her earning an opportunity to host a book launch with Jeff Kinney, the author of the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series.

Keller said that it was a stressful time for her, as she had to coordinate with a live event all over the world in the middle of a pandemic.

Keller said it was also tough because the students needed to have a Scholastic release form signed in order to participate in the book launch and dance off.

EVERYDAY LIFE

Keller has been doing smaller events for her students every year that she has taught.

"Every quarter I turn my room into something magical," Keller said.

Keller uses her transformation of her classroom to tie the change into her standards for that time of year.

With all of these changes she knows that not even that will be able to get all students engaged in school, as she herself was not the most motivated student growing up as she questioned everything about why they had to learn certain subjects.

"One of my passions is not only to show kids why they need certain things in life and to get them excited to learn," Keller said.

Keller said one of her favorite things to do as a teacher is to trick her students into having fun while they are learning to the point that they do not even realize they are learning at first.

She said that it is not always a party with her class though, as they do have to do their seat work in order to succeed too.

Keller said that one thing she always preaches to her students is "how do you want to be remembered?"

She understands that in fifth grade students begin to question why they are learning all of these subjects, and that she as a teacher needs to understand where each student comes from to help them in whatever way she can.

"I really try to teach my kids that whatever you do in life, you need to be a good human," Keller said. "Whether that is working hard in school or working hard outside of school we really talk about how you want to be remembered and treating people with empathy and kindness because you never know what is going on in their lives."

Keller said that she also uses music to set the tone with her students and have them understand what kind of assignment is going on at that time.

She said that this year was difficult with COVID-19 as she had to work around social distancing guidelines to be able to have any activities.

Looking forward Keller said that she hopes they are able to get back to normal this upcoming fall, after she and her students were able to beat the odds this year and finish a rollercoaster year.

"My support system has shaped me into the educator that I am today, and I am forever grateful to continue that legacy," Keller said.

The Master Teacher is an award given annually and voted on by the board of trustees, while the Teacher of the Year is decided through nominations through schools and voted on by a panel in the district.