By TARA HETTINGER
Tara.Hettinger@newsandtribune.com
CLARKSVILLE —
Jacque Singleton was shocked in the spring when she found out the Archdiocese of Indianapolis nominated her as one of its two teachers of the year for the state-wide Indiana Teacher of the Year competition.
Then Tuesday, the Saint Anthony of Padua School, in Clarksville, teacher received an e-mail that she made the final top 10 list, beating out 40 other public and private school teachers who had been nominated.
“I would never have imagined. No. Not in a million years!” Singleton said. “Sometimes I think as Catholic schools we’re underrepresented. We’re not always in the spotlight.”
However, she said she knows her school, which is also her alma mater, is doing great things. And, she’s ready to talk about that Tuesday, during her final selection interview to determine who will represent Indiana in the national Teacher of the Year contest.
Singleton said she plans to spend her Labor Day weekend bringing together facts and figures that show how much her first-grade children have learned.
“I’m a little nervous, because of the magnitude of it, but I’m looking forward to it,” she said.
Principal Sheila Noon knows Singleton well. Noon had been her teacher in seventh and eighth grade.
“I’m just ecstatic. I’m so happy and proud of her and to think that maybe I had some little part in helping her want to become a teacher and become the success that she is,” Noon said.
This isn’t the only recognition that Singleton has received. She was an Armstrong Teacher Educator Award nominee, St. Theodora Excellence in Education Award recipient and more.
But in her nomination materials, Singleton said her accomplishments sit in her classroom.
“Although it sounds cliché, I consider each child that I have taught to be an accomplishment, whether I have helped them overcome a disability or challenged them beyond their grade level. When I take students from where they are and move them forward, I have accomplished my objective as a teacher. I take great pride in knowing I have had a small part in all the amazing things my former students are achieving,” she wrote.
She also wrote about how teaching is more than a career. It’s a vocation.
“To be an educator is to devote oneself to a way of life. My job as a teacher is to love, serve and teach each child entrusted to my care. I cannot choose the students I am given to teach. Each child comes from parents who love them and want the best for them, and it is my job to give them my best in the short time I have them. I view children as individuals and strive to provide the best academic foundation I can for each of them,” Singleton wrote.
Singleton, who is working to earn her doctorate in the philosophy of curriculum and instruction, said this is her ninth year of teaching. She said she’s excited to have made the top 10 list.
“I kind of feel as though it’s a reflection on our school and our community,” she said, adding that she attended the school and returned to teach there. “To me, it makes everything come full circle. I had great teachers who inspired me to be a teacher ... and to come back here and be a teacher and be recognized for that I think is a reflection on everyone here, not just me.”
Indiana’s top teacher will receive $1,000 and sabbatical/higher education scholarship opportunities. The winner will be announced mid-to-late September.
Singleton said she can’t imagine being chosen.
“I think I’d be speechless,” she said. “I think it’d be wonderful to represent the state.”
Rounding out the rest of the top 10 are MSD of Warren Township’s Scott Black, LaPorte Community School Corp.’s JoAnn Brugos, Elkhart Community Schools’ Erin Hartman, Warsaw Community Schools’ Stacy Huffer, Franklin Community School Corp.’s John Jackson, Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp.’s Stacy McCormack, Franklin Township Community School Corp.’s Lisa Miniear, MSD of Perry Township’s Jamil Odom and Avon Community School Corp.’s Anthony Record.
