PeopleAdmin Celebrates Oklahoma Elementary Educator as Part of Inspired2Educate Program
Oologah-Talala Upper Elementary Teacher Continues Legacy of Childhood Educator
AUSTIN, Texas – PeopleAdmin, a leader in talent management software for K-12 and higher education, today announced the latest honoree of its Inspired2Educate recognition program.
Stephanie Anderson, a fourth-grade math teacher at Oologah-Talala Upper Elementary in Oklahoma, submitted a story about finding resilience in the midst of a difficult upbringing through the support and encouragement of a childhood educator.
“Being a teacher is not just a job; for many, it’s a calling that extends well beyond the classroom. And Stephanie’s story of her inspiring fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Horton, reminds us all of the incredible impact a teacher can make for a lifetime,” said PeopleAdmin CEO Kermit S. Randa. “We are grateful to have this opportunity to share Stephanie’s story, and celebrate her as she continues Mrs. Horton’s legacy through her own life’s work.”
Anderson wrote about her experience as an “invisible child” who was often overlooked by teachers and students. Suffering from severe parental neglect, she often arrived at school hungry and in the same clothes as the day before. “I rarely made eye contact with anyone. I had no friends. I just wanted to be invisible,” she said.
Her fourth-grade math teacher, Mrs. Horton, saw an opportunity to step outside of her role in the classroom and into a role of caregiver and life-long educator. “She would pull my hair back into a ponytail, tell me to go wash my face, and remind me to wear clean clothes,” Anderson wrote.
Mrs. Horton entered Anderson’s life again in high school, after the birth of her daughter. She arrived on Anderson’s doorstep as her designated homebound teacher, there to provide homework assistance and make sure she kept on track with her studies. Over the course of the next few weeks, Mrs. Horton not only instructed her former student in the classwork she needed to graduate, but also taught the new mother the skills she needed to care for her infant child. “I learned how to hold a bottle correctly, how to cradle a baby while doing an assignment, and probably one of the best lessons in life: if I wanted to give my baby a good life, I HAD to get an education,” she said.
As a testament to her resilience and to the lessons imparted by Mrs. Horton, Anderson went on to get her bachelor’s degree and is now a fourth-grade math teacher in the very same school and classroom where she first encountered Mrs. Horton all those years ago. “I enter the classroom every day trying to spot the invisible students,” she said. “I owe so much to so many teachers. And the only way that I can even think to repay, even just a portion of what they’ve given me, would be to teach and to pass it on.”
At a ceremony held in celebration of Anderson’s Inspired2Educate recognition, Mrs. Horton said of her former student, “Stephanie is the victor, not I. We teach, it’s what we do. I only did what I did every day. Teachers care, it comes from the heart. I had a job to do – to get them prepared for fifth grade – and I took that very seriously. They had choices and usually, I would bring them around to the choice to be the best that they can be.”
Launched in February, Inspired2Educate honors and celebrates our nation’s educators, while at the same time inspiring young people considering a career in education. The program calls for current educators to share stories of a K-20 teacher, administrator, or school staff member who inspired them to pursue education as their life’s work.https://peopleadmin.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screen-Shot-2016-08-24-at-9.05.26-AM-1.pngWhen asked what her advice would be to someone considering a career in education, Anderson said, “There is no other profession in the world that will give you job satisfaction the way teaching does. And, whether you’re an invisible child or not, an education is the one thing that nobody can take away from you.”
Throughout the remainder of the year, PeopleAdmin will continue to honor each month an educator who submitted a video or written story to the program.
PeopleAdmin believes that acquiring, managing and developing, the right educators is the best way to ensure the academic success for the next generation. Inspired2Educate is its way of recognizing some of those great educators and ensuring that our nation’s students get the education they deserve.
Click here for more information about the Inspired2Educate program and how to participate. Follow along with the latest conversation and updates by using the #Inspired2Educate hashtag on Twitter and Facebook.
About PeopleAdmin
PeopleAdmin is the leading provider of cloud-based talent management solutions for education and government. Its software enables customers to streamline the hiring process, onboard new employees, efficiently manage positions and employee performance, develop compliant and defensible audit trails, and utilize industry-leading reporting and data-driven predictive analytics. PeopleAdmin’s integrated talent management suite includes applicant tracking, faculty search committee management, position management, onboarding, performance management, PD management and workforce planning, as well as a first-of-its-kind teacher candidate assessment tool created in partnership with a consortium of award-winning scholars, respected universities and research partners. PeopleAdmin solutions are rapidly deployed, easy to use and supported through a world-class customer service organization.