Six Educators Celebrated with “Teacher of the Year” honor by the Grand Island Public Schools Foundation
GRAND ISLAND (Neb.) — The school year started off with a huge honor for a few staff members at Grand Island Public Schools.
During the district’s all-staff welcome back assembly on Wednesday, August 6, the Grand Island Public Schools Foundation celebrated and honored six educators as part of their Teacher of the Year awards. The award winners represent different categories, which include: Elementary School Teacher of the Year, Middle School Teacher of the Year, High School Teacher of the Year, Specialist of the Year, Staff Member of the Year, and Administrator of the Year.
“This is a wonderful way for staff to know about how they have touched the lives of students, staff, and administration throughout the year.” said Kari Hooker-Leep, GIPS Foundation Executive Director. “Everybody needs to hear ‘You Matter’.”
The GIPS Foundation opens Teacher of the Year nominations in the spring. Parents, students, colleagues and community members can nominate a current GIPS staff member for the honor. This year 2,025 nominations were submitted, nominating hundreds of different staff members.
“I just feel honored and privileged to be nominated. It is never about winning. I just love reading them [the nominations] because I love what the students say. They’re like my own kids,” shared Rosemary Osborne, English Learners teacher at Grand Island Senior High and this year’s High School Teacher of the Year.
The Foundation receives all the nominations and a volunteer committee composed of retired teachers and Board Members reviews the nominations. The Foundation also provides each nominee with copies of their nominations.
“I remember reading the nominations this year, specifically from some of my students I had the previous year,” said Faviola Canfield, Social Studies teacher at Walnut Middle School and this year’s Middle School Teacher of the Year. “I want to say thank you to those kids. They’re the reason I teach. They are my passion. They are my everything,” she continued, “I love getting to be a stepping stone in my students' lives. I love getting to character-build and interact with them and their personalities.”
The Teacher of the Year award program is sponsored by First National Bank of Omaha. This is FNBO’s 21st year partnering with the GIPS Foundation to celebrate GIPS staff and sponsor the awards. Staff winners receive a plaque and a $500 cash award. The Administrator of the Year receives a plaque and $1,000 of extra budget authority for their building or department.
“This is one way for FNBO to honor the teachers and the professionals in the school system and recognize them for the special things they do for students that they don’t always get recognition for,” FNBO’s Senior Director in Business Owner Succession Planning in Grand Island & Kearney.
“I’m so thankful for everyone who nominated me. It feels wonderful to be recognized in this way,” said Whitney Flower, Stolley Park Elementary Principal and 2025 Administrator of the Year. “Everybody who nominated me, our staff especially, deserve to be honored as well. My work isn’t done in isolation, it's my whole entire team.”
The following six people were named Teacher of the Year winners by the Grand Island Public Schools Foundation.
Elementary School
Lauren Peitzmeier, Fourth Grade teacher, Stolley Park Elementary School
Middle School
Faviola Canfield, Social Studies teacher, Walnut Middle School
High School
Rosemary Osborne, English Learners teacher, Grand Island Senior High
Specialist
Marlo Reyes, Bilingual Para-Educator-ESL, Knickrehm Elementary School
Staff Member
Karmyn Barnes, Speech Therapy, Grand Island Senior High
Administrator
Whitney Flower, Principal, Stolley Park Elementary School
Congratulations to the six "Teacher of the Year" honorees and to all the district educators who were nominated!