PCR-3 Announces Teacher and Service Person of the Year
Posted on 05/14/2022
With a special interruption of a staff meeting and a surprise addition to an all-school assembly, Platte County School District announced its Teacher and Service Person of the Year in mid-May. This year's Teacher of the Year is Kim Redinger, Science Teacher at Platte County High School; and Service Person of the Year is Tara Swanson, Behavior Coach at Compass Elementary. Fellow staff members nominate their peers for consideration in both the Northland Chamber of Commerce's Excellence in Education honors, as well as the District's staff recognition program; then nomination forms are completed by principals, fellow staff members, and parents.
The awardees' nominations included the following accolades:
Kim Redinger, Teacher of the Year
From administrators: "She incorporates real world learning opportunities in her classroom for students to see how science is relevant to them and how they can make an impact on the world around them. Kim’s students gravitate towards her because she cares about them beyond the classroom. She is always willing to help out those in her own department or in our building, and has made an amazing impact on our school culture. Her leadership has become a model of how I want to lead."
From fellow teachers: "Kim loves science, but her real passion and where her heart lies is with the students. You will not find an educator more centered on her students' overall success and happiness. Watching her speak to an individual student, you can see that her attention is 100% on that child. Kim has been the Science Department Chair for several years and we truly don’t know what we’d do without her. She offers help and support where needed and encourages students and colleagues to stretch themselves and achieve beyond what they thought possible through her quiet and supportive leadership."
From parents: "Our daughter is continuing her education because of Kim’s support and guidance. She loves science because of Mrs. Redinger’s leadership in the classroom and the department. Her impact goes beyond the curriculum in her classroom. She has the ability to teach students as individuals, being empathetic and understanding of what they might be going through. Her empathy and understanding creates an emotional connection with every student, and has a direct impact on the student's learning."
.JPG "Service person of the year with family and colleagues")
Tara Swanson, Service Person of the Year
From administrators: "There isn’t anything that Mrs. Swanson won’t dive into head first to provide help and support for our building in any way that she can, whether it relates to her regular job duties or not. It is her passion to help staff understand what they can do to support all students, and ensure that staff members know that she is there to support them in their own learning journey regarding each student’s needs. She is one of the first people to jump in to offer help on Back to School Night, Trunk or Treat, Leadership Celebrations, Kindergarten Kickoff, and more; and she is often found going out of her way to make students and families feel welcome. Mrs. Swanson has brought so much positive energy and passion to our school, and we are forever grateful to have her as a part of our Compass family."
From coworkers: "She will drop anything and everything to help any teacher and any student in need. The best thing about her work with teachers is she has saved, and many times enhanced, the relationships between teachers and students that have been struggling. On top of Tara’s responsibilities of being a behavior coach, she is also asked to do many things for our building - car rider duty, office support, and leader of professional development. Though Tara is constantly helping out our building with these needs, she always puts the students first.”