Administrators and other officials at Tallmadge High School in Tallmadge, Ohio have awarded math teacher Celia Bowser with the 2013-2014 Teacher of the Year Award. Bowser says that she is humbled and honored by the award but admits that while she is very excited to have been named to such an honor, she is also “very surprised.”
She says that her passion for math and her love for her students is what compels her to teach math at a high level every day. In that regard, she says, “I just see myself as doing the job I’m paid to do, so to win an award just for coming in to work every day to do something I love is really special to me…and actually pretty surprising.”
All of the teachers at Tallmadge High School are eligible for the award and receive an automatic nomination each year that it is presented. The recipient of the award is chosen annually by a committee consisting of school administrators and former winners of the award and is based on several factors such as experience, achievements, educational background, professional activities, and extracurriculars like service on various boards and committees that are in place to benefit students and the community.
Bowser has been described by several of her fellow teachers as an “excellent” educator in the field of mathematics whose “hard work and dedication to her students allow them to become successful at THS.” She received her bachelor’s degree in integrated mathematics in 2005 and has spent the last several years teaching Algebra I, Algebra II, Integrated Statistics, and Integrated Geometry.
Bowser describes her teaching methodology as being very “hands-on” and likes to get her students “out of their seats and moving.” Bowser is among the youngest teachers ever to receive the award.