Teacher Of The Year Named

Tuesday, September 18th 2007, 9:49 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ An elementary school physical education teacher from Shawnee was named the 2007-2008 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year during a ceremony on Tuesday at the Oklahoma State Fair.

Stephanie Canada, who teaches at Will Rogers Elementary School, will receive more than $50,000 in cash and prizes, including the use of a Toyota Prius for one year.

Canada, who was an All-State basketball player in 1990 for Kellyville High School, said her role as a physical education teacher gave her a unique perspective on teaching.

``I am able to teach not only my curriculum effectively and integrate interdisciplinary material, I also provide students opportunities to practice healthy life skills daily,'' she said.

Canada, who came to Shawnee Public Schools in 2003, previously taught at Checotah, where she was the girls high school basketball coach from 1998 to 1999. She began her teaching career as an instructor in Northeastern State University's College of Education, where she later was assistant women's basketball coach from 1999 to 2001.

Canada will travel the state for the remainder of the school year giving speeches and lectures and conducting professional development for teachers and university students. She also will represent Oklahoma in a national competition.

``I look forward to Stephanie traveling our state and speaking with principals, teachers, parents and students about the importance of adopting healthy lifestyles, and giving them sound strategies for doing so immediately and with a high degree of success,'' State Superintendent Sandy Garrett said.

Canada was named Teacher of the Year following a lengthy selection process, which started with 12 finalists selected from a field of more than 500 teachers.

Watch the video: Teacher Of The Year Announced