History Department Head Named School’s Teacher of the Year

In a student’s career they will meet a variety of teachers and while most will be forgotten, others will stand out in that student’s life for years to come. That can be said in the case of teacher Deb Keller-Mitchell who has recently been named  the school’s teacher of the year. 

Keller-Mitchell has taught  for 28 years, currently teaches sociology and psychology .

“When I heard the news that I had been named the teacher of the year,I felt many emotions,” Keller-Mitchell said. “I felt shocked, humbled, honored and blessed beyond belief.”

During her time teaching she has come across students from a variety of different backgrounds. She uses these experiences to help shape her way of teaching, and always looks for ways to make her class more engaging for her students.

She also enjoys asking her students things that are personal to them, such as what is going on in their lives to help with teaching them. She feels that the more she knows about her students the better she can educate them. 

“Something that I constantly have to remind myself when I am teaching is that they do not care how much I know until they know how much I care,” Keller-Mitchell said.

Teaching classes such as sociology, Keller-Mitchell tends to find it easy to teach her students. Her students are able to voice their opinion in class and the subject matter allows her to show how much she cares about social-problems that they are passionate about.

“When my students leave on the last day I hope that they know two things: that they are not only my students but my children, and that they have a voice and opinion that matters that they can communicate to anyone,” Keller-Mitchell said.