I have had the good fortune of teaching in District 241 for the past thirty years, and I have been writing the Teacher of the Year column for almost ten years. I have thanked and expressed gratitude to a good number of people over the years. It is high time to thank the parents.

Writing on behalf of the TOY Committee, we thank the parents of Albert Lea for the students they send to our classrooms each day.

We thank you for the thoughtful students and the talented students who represent our district. I am thinking, for example, of the Albert Lea Chorale and the Philosophy club who participated in the Martin Luther King Celebration last January. We thank you for the student athletes who enrich our community and infuse us with community pride.

We thank you for the bright students who dazzle us with their intelligence in math, science, writing and classroom discussions.

We thank you for the persistent students, the ones who find subjects such as long division, spelling, calculus, Spanish, or chemistry difficult, but nonetheless work hard each day to master these subjects.

We thank you for the students who have skills in welding, technology and electronics who will keep our community functioning.

We thank you for the social butterflies and class clowns who bring joy and fun to our classrooms.

We thank you for the creative students who can draw, paint, write, cook and build with skill.

We thank for the kind and sensitive students who help bring a calmness and collaboration to our classrooms.

And we thank you for the challenging student, the provocative student, the angry student, the student who sometimes disrupts. They challenge us, keep us honest, and remind us that the lives of our students can be complicated and that teaching is a very human enterprise.

Last Christmas I received a letter from a former student who, after many life difficulties and problems, began college in her forties. Amazing. Several months ago, a student I was teaching at Fountain Centers looked up at me from his Algebra and said, “Mary, I am now a MATH addict!” Priceless. What could be more rewarding than this?

So on behalf of Albert Lea teachers, we thank you parents for sending us your best, your brightest, your kindest, and your most honest children. They are a delight and remind us of how fortunate we are to be teachers.

Each year, the parents, students and colleagues of the teachers of the Albert Lea District nominate the teacher that they think deserves the honor of being the Teacher of the Year. This year sixty-six teachers were nominated.

So what reasons did the nominators give? Students appreciate a teacher who makes school work and learning “fun,” is “nice,” “funny,” “has a sense of humor,” who “cares” and who “challenges me.”

Parents appreciate a teacher who is “dedicated,” “supportive,” “intelligent,” “caring” and “communicates” with them about how their child is doing.

And teachers appreciate other teachers who are “creative,” “talented,” “hard working,” “dedicated,” “a team player” and “a leader.”

One teacher described a colleague thus: “He holds kids to high standards and makes them WANT to meet those high standards.” And a student wrote, “…he has compassion that goes beyond that of any teacher I have seen before. He has changed my life.”

Reading these nominations for Teacher of the Year, one can only be touched, humbled, and inspired.

On Wednesday, the 2015 Teacher of the Year will be announced at the TOY Reception. Thank you to all who participated in this process by nominating all of these wonderful and deserving teachers.