CCISD names Teachers of the year for 2017

Jan Stalder has been teaching students in the classroom for 45 years, 39 of the years at Copperas Cove High School. Mrs. Stalder teaches Advanced Placement English and Creative Writing. She teaches seven different classes that each cover different subject matter and she handles them with ease. 
Affectionately nicknamed the “Dragon Lady,” by her students, they are challenged by her rigorous course work as she prepares them for their advanced placement exams and success with the school’s literary magazine. Mrs. Stalder ensures her students are ready for college and will success. 
Innovative is not a word most think of with a 45-year veteran teacher, yet Stalder is with her teaching methods. She creates new lessons to reach the students today. 
She pays attention to her demographic and develops creative new ways to help students understand. Stalder does not continue to do things the way they have always been done, but creates new and exciting ways to guide students and teachers alike.

Robert Stroup’s teaching places him at the exceptional level.  He currently teaches the K-5 Program for Children with Multiple Disabilities class at Martin Walker Elementary School.  
Although his students face unique challenges each day due to chronic health conditions and learning difficulties, Mr. Stroup never lets these challenges overwhelm him or his students. Mr. Stroup has designed his classroom with their unique circumstances in mind. When one enters his classroom, it is apparent that the selected learning materials were specially placed in the classroom for a specific purpose--to facilitate learning for a particular students. 
Mr. Stroup seeks out and attends highly specialized training to learn and create new ways to work with and meet the hurdles his students face.  He tirelessly advocates for his students and progressively utilizes an inclusive model with all of his students.   
Mr. Stroup is not only the K-5 PCMD teacher, he is also the Lead Special Education teacher at Martin Walker.  
In this capacity, he leads the special education team to positively impact student success throughout the campus.  Mr. Stoup works relentlessly to help the other case managers and as a result, the students meet and exceed their learning goals.  
He is not content with the status quo and is always pushing the envelope in our thinking to make sure the students are individually challenged in creative and new ways.  

Jessica Bredwell is a new teacher this school year at Williams/Ledger Elementary and has taken on the challenge of teaching a self-contained 4th grade classroom, which translates to 3 different STAAR tests.
Mrs. Bredwell has worked closely with her mentor teacher as well as our instructional coach, researching new ideas to meet her students’ varied needs. She is always open to new ideas and is willing to share any resources or activities that she finds work successfully in her classroom. 
As Mrs. Bredwell has observed veteran teachers, she has spent extra time asking questions and finding ways to implement best practices into her own growing ‘tool kit.’ She stands out among our rookie teachers because she is not afraid to ask questions, seek feedback, reflect and then implement new ideas that will positively impact her students.  
Mrs. Bredwell’s classroom inspires learning because of the collaborative nature of her instructional practices.
She has one of the most diverse classes on her campus and has worked tirelessly to find instructional practices that engage her students at the highest levels. Her innovation and creativity, combined with her use of technology and hands-on strategies, has been the perfect environment for her unique learners to thrive.

Kristina Williams-Myers is a “kid-whisperer.”  Students who struggle with behavior and challenge even the most veteran teachers, become malleable clay in the hands of Mrs. Myers.  
When teachers are in a situation in which they are having extreme difficulty with a student, they call Mrs. Myers.  Students love her and know she will be firm but fair in all circumstances. Her kids know she cares for them and loves them enough to help them make good choices each and every day. 
Mrs. Myers has served as a special education aide, a physical education aide, and now has found her niche as her school’s Behavior Intervention aide.  
Many in-school suspension classrooms are all about consequences.  Instead of consequences and punishment, Mrs. Myers works with the students, teaching them social skills and replacement behaviors to help them be successful in the classroom. 
She works day in and day out with some of the most challenging behaviors in the school.  She never gets frustrated with students and begins each day anew.  
When teachers need assistance, Mrs. Myers enters their classroom to help the students generalize the social skills they have learned in her small group instruction into the classroom whole group environment.  

Bonnie Edmonds serves the school district with the job title of transportation secretary, but she fulfills many roles. 
When CCISD is short of bus drivers, Mrs. Edmonds quickly gets behind the wheel without hesitation transporting the precious cargo of students to and from school. She talks with concerned parents and eases their worries and calms their fears. 
She undertook the task of learning about computers and worked her way from being a bus driver to secretary of the department. 
She is firm but fair when working out staff issues and was selected as one of only three spokespeople to represent the school district in a recognition video when CCISD was honored by the Central Texas Girl Scouts as the 2017 Workplace of Distinction.