Mason named MPS Teacher of the Year
Feb. 20—Coworkers cheered and waived large printed cutouts as Brooke Mason was named the 2023 McAlester Public Schools Teacher of the Year.
The Parker Intermediate Center teacher hugged each of the other four finalists Monday at the S. Arch Thompson Auditorium and gave a tearful speech thanking family, friends and coworkers — then challenged teachers to remember the reason why they started teaching.
"I want you to remember your why — why you wanted to be a teacher," Mason said. "Whatever your reason may be, remember your why. Daily we are faced with distractions in the classroom and these distractions can cause us to lose sight of the why we teach. So on the days when you might question if you're making a difference or maybe making a career change — think back on your why and why you want to be a teacher."
Mason is a cheer coach, special education teacher and co-teaches fifth-grade reading at Parker Intermediate Center in her fifth year with McAlester.
She said some of her favorite moments as a teacher is when students have an "aha!" moment and continue progressing toward their goals.
Mason said she became a teacher because she wanted to impact students' lives and make relationships with them to help them grow and invest in the community.
She said getting to know students and meet them where they are is part of how she tries to inspire students in the classroom.
Mason said advice for young teachers is to be a sponge and soak up advice from veteran teachers and coworkers
"Ask questions and ask for help because we've all been there and we know that sometimes it can be stressful but just keep going," Mason said.
Mason thanked the district, school board, her family, and Parker Intermediate Center coworkers for their support.
MPS Teacher of the Year finalists included Mason, Sarah Duff, Margaret Meadows, Troy Meadows, and Kimberli Suttles.
Duff is a 13-year educator in her 12th year at McAlester and teaches third-grade math and science at Emerson Elementary.
Maggie Meadows teaches seventh- and eighth-grade math at Puterbaugh Middle School and is in her eighth year in education, all at McAlester.
Troy Meadows teaches eighth-grade history at Puterbaugh and in his fifth year in education, all at McAlester.
Suttles teaches biology and physiology at McAlester High School and is in her 17th year of teaching and her 10th with McAlester.
MPS Superintendent Robert Steeber opened the ceremony thanking teachers for their daily great attitude and effort across the district.
"I've never been in a district that had the attitude, the effort, the support that you see from top to bottom," said Steeber, who is a 33-year educator.
MPS Secondary Academic Design Coordinator Tim Collier, who leads the selection process with Elementary Academic Design Coordinator Prentice Redmon, said during a recent school board meeting this year's Teacher of the Year selection process was stringent.
"It included a much more robust process to choose teachers, adding things like video, adding direct observations," Collier said. He thanked everyone for their feedback on the process on how to improve the system this year.
Laurie Smith, the 2022 MPS Teacher of the Year, thanked the district for the honor of serving the role over the past year.
The high school teacher and coach said teaching is one of the hardest jobs in the world because of the various roles served, but it's the most rewarding too.
"We make an enormous impact on the population every single minute, every single hour, every single day of every single year that we are in our classrooms," Smith said.
"Every single one of your students is better because of the investment you are making in them first as young people and second as students," she added.
