Tulsa Public Schools Name Teacher Of The Year

Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Keith Ballard on Thursday congratulated the district's 2012 Teacher of the Year.

Lane Matheson and Jeanie Cox were awarded Teacher and Support Employee of the Year, respectively, at the annual Tulsa Public Schools employee appreciation banquet at the Tulsa Fairgrounds.

"Both of these women do tremendous work day-in and day-out," Ballard said in a statement. "They have gone above and beyond to provide a quality learning experience and great service to everyone they encounter. Many thanks to both of them for their continued dedication to students and Tulsa Public Schools."

Matheson has been a physics, robotics and engineering teacher at Memorial High School since 1996. She began her career with McDonnell Douglas Aerospace working on the International Space Station program.

After reading an article that reported girls consistently score lower than boys in math, Matheson decided to pursue a master's degree in secondary education and became certified in algebra, calculus and physics. Her knowledge has helped develop both the Memorial robotics team and the engineering program.

Matheson was chosen out of eight nominees, Susan Heller Fisher, kindergarten teacher at Grimes Elementary; Brenda Carol Davis, TRAICE teacher, TRAICE satellite at East Central Junior High School; Krista Baxter Waldron, English teacher, Early College High School at TCC Northeast; and Tonya Williams, algebra and geometry teacher, Will Rogers College High School.

Cox is the principal's secretary at Peary Elementary School and has served as the school's registrar as well.