Humbled to be T.O.Y.

In November I found out my staff voted me Teacher of the Year at my school. I was so overwhelmed to be nominated, let alone be given such an honor by the people I work with.
I was surprised with balloons and flowers by my Principal and Assistant Principal. Needless to say, my students were beyond excited for me.

In my county, each person who wins from their school is required to write essays answering many different questions. How are you a leader? How do you involve the parents and the community in your classroom? Why are you a teacher? How do you prepare your students to be college and career ready? This is the gist of what I had to write about.  (it came to about 3,000 words)
In addition to the written portion, we are also asked to conduct a T.V. Interview with one of our Deputy Superintendents as well as an interview with a committee of principals from our district. From these interviews, they decide who will represent our county at the state level.
I do not know who that will be yet, but I would love to share my T.V. interview with you. I am at 1:34 if you would like to watch it. Mind you, I was given the questions ahead of time, but was not allowed my notes. I also decided to change my answer for the last 2 questions and speak from the heart.