2024 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year known to ‘take people under her wing’

State Superintendent Ryan Walters presents the 2024 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year award to Rachel Keith, of Ada High School, on Monday in Tulsa. (Photo provided by the Oklahoma State Department of Education)

OKLAHOMA CITY — An Ada High School teacher known as a mentor to her colleagues and students has been crowned the 2024 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year.

Rachel Keith was announced the winner of the prestigious award on Monday night among a group of 10 finalists.

Keith has taught for 19 years, including 11 years at Ada City Schools. She teaches 10th-12th grade Advanced Placement language and composition, mock trial and humanities.

Keith said she hopes to mentor educators across Oklahoma during her yearlong term as Teacher of the Year.

“I believe that our strength as Oklahoma teachers lies in our power to mentor others,” Keith said after being named the winner. “Teacher mentorship is needed more now than ever before, and I promise you I am ready to work with schools and teachers to build strong mentorships and alliances, whether it’s with a brand-new teacher or a career teacher who has simply lost their passion and needs a new vision forward.”

Keith is known to be a willing mentor to new educators, even when the role isn’t assigned, Ada Superintendent Mike Anderson said.

Her students and peers seek out her advice, and afterward, they come away “feeling more comfortable with where they are and what they’re doing and the pursuits that they’re searching for,” he said.

“She just has a unique ability to take people under her wing,” Anderson said.

Keith credited a colleague, Nancy McAfee, who mentored her early in her teaching career at Stratford Public Schools as the inspiration for her focus on mentorship today.

“There were days that I was like, ‘I don’t think I can do this,’” Keith said. “But, Mrs. McAfee continuously poured into me, telling me, ‘You can do this. You’re smart enough. You’re strong enough. You can do this.’”

The state Teacher of the Year traditionally spends the following year traveling the state as an ambassador for the teaching profession. The state winner also becomes a candidate for National Teacher of the Year.

When Keith begins her yearlong term in August, state Superintendent Ryan Walters said she will be an “exceptional example of everything we want Oklahoma teachers to be.”

Anderson said it will be a challenge to replace a high-quality teacher like Keith on short notice, but he said it’s a good problem to have.

“I’d like to be able to do this every year,” he said. “I can’t wait to see her do her work and spread the word because she’ll represent us as well as anybody possibly could.”

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