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Texas Teacher of the Year meets Obama
Submitted Photo - Texas Teacher of the Year Karen Morman stands in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. during her trip there last week to join other state teachers of the year in meeting President Barack Obama. Morman, a literacy specialist at McKinney ISD's Webb Elementary School, represented the state in the national teacher of the year competition.
By Dan Eakin, deakin@starlocalnews.com
Karen Morman, the J.W. Webb Elementary School teacher who was named Texas Teacher of the Year last fall, was among 54 teachers greeted by President Barack Obama on Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
Obama first met with Teachers of the Year from 49 states, three territories and the Department of Defense Education Agency in the White House Rose Garden and then spoke to the teachers in the East Room.
Morman, in a Thursday morning telephone interview from Washington, said she shook hands with the President and told him, "I am genuinely pleased to meet you."
After the teachers gathered inside the White House, Obama told them that he realizes that, to children and young people, teachers are among the most important people in the world.
She quoted Obama as saying, "Teachers make a difference every day in the lives of students."
"It was an honor to get to go to the White House and meet the President," Morman said, "but it is even a greater honor to represent the dedicated and talented teachers of McKinney and the state of Texas."
She praised the staff at Webb Elementary and said, "They supported me all the way. Without them, I wouldn't even be here."
Morman, who joined the other teachers being honored at several meetings while in Washington, said, "I am eager to take back to McKinney what I have learned in Washington, D.C., and integrate it into our curriculum."
United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan also met with the teachers and greeted each one.
Morman described Rebecca Mieliwocki of Burbank, Calif., who was named National Teacher of the Year, as "a wonderful person" who was very deserving of winning the national award.
Morman was first selected as Webb Elementary's Teacher of the Year last fall, and then was named Region 10 Education Service Center Elementary Teacher of the Year. Last Oct. 14, the Texas State Board of Education named her Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year.
Stephanie Stoebe of Round Rock was named Texas Secondary Teacher of the Year, but Morman was chosen to go to Washington as Texas Teacher of the Year.
People of McKinney were so proud of Morman that Mayor Brian Loughmiller last November read a proclamation designating Nov. 15, 2011 as Karen Morman Day in McKinney.
In proclaiming the day, Loughmiller said, "Karen Morman wanted a career path that would change lives for the better, give children hope and truly make a difference in the world. She helps children grow emotionally and socially, as well as academically."
Pennsylvania did not choose to enter a Teacher of the Year candidate.
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