22 May 2003
Thomas C. Marsh Middle School Educator to Represent the District
Regional Teacher of the Year Competition
DALLAS–The Dallas Independent School District named Nancy Bagwell as the district's 2003-2004 Teacher of the Year Thursday, May 22, at its annual Teacher of the Year Banquet held at the Westin Galleria Hotel.
Bagwell is an English /language arts teacher at Thomas C. Marsh Middle School. She has 17 years of teaching experience, and has taught in Dallas schools for the past 10 years. She received her Bachelor of Science degree at Mississippi University for Women and her Master of Science from the University of Southern Mississippi.
At Marsh, she serves as a mentor teacher for beginning teachers and those who enter the profession via the district's Alternative Certification program.
General Superintendent Mike Moses and Central Market executive Stephen Butt presented Bagwell with a gift and a check for $5,000. in recognition of the honor, which symbolizes teaching excellence. Central Market sponsored the banquet.
"Nancy Bagwell exemplifies teaching excellence," said Moses. "Her dedication to providing her students with hands-on access to technology and her ingenuity in finding grants to fund it are evidence of her enthusiasm for teaching."
Bagwell has received more than $15,000 in grants to support classroom projects from sources such as Junior League of Dallas and the International Paper Company. She is described by colleagues as dependable, dedicated and creative. She was selected for the award by a panel of judges based on interviews and an essay packet that discussed her teaching philosophy, community involvement and views on the teaching profession. Bagwell will represent the district in the next level of the Texas teacher of the year competition, sponsored by the Region 10 Education Service Center.
Bagwell said teaching is a career like no other. "It is a chance to be on one's feet all day, to make countless decisions every hour, to go home feeling drained while at the same time realizing that you are in the most important job in the world," she added.
The other three finalists for The Teacher of the Year award included:
• Dian Hetrick, who teaches fourth grade language arts at Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School, has been in her present position for six years and has 30 years of teaching experience.
• Randi Hinds, who teaches multimedia students in grades 10, 11 and 12 at Thomas Jefferson High School, has been in her present position for four years and has a total of 13 years of teaching experience.
• Georgianna Wood, who teaches kindergarten at Preston Hollow Elementary School, has been in her present position for 13 years and has a total of 29 years of teaching experience.