University City EA member receives
Missouri Teacher of the Year honor

After high school graduation in 1966, Margaret Williams knew she wanted to make a difference in people’s lives and serve others. She went to college planning to become a lawyer but decided to become a teacher instead. Today, this veteran social studies teacher brings her lessons to life in the classroom — and in the courtroom as a mock trial team coach.

Williams, a University City EA member and high school teacher, is Missouri’s Teacher of the Year for 2008-2009.

Nominations for the award were submitted by 44 public school districts across the state. A selection committee appointed by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education reviewed the candidates’ written applications and chose the finalists in late August in Jefferson City.

Williams automatically becomes a candidate in the national Teacher of the Year program. Learn more about her in the winter issue of Something Better.

Among the five other finalists for the award were three Missouri NEA members:

Mark Alan Anderson, art and graphic design teacher, Oak Park High School, North Kansas City School District
Shelli Lee, preschool teacher, Grandview Elementary School, Lafayette County C-1 School District, Higginsville
Mariah Spanglet, special education teacher, Special School District of St. Louis County, who is assigned to Flynn Park Elementary School, University City

The Missouri Teacher of the Year program is conducted by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education with major funding provided by the Boeing Company, St. Louis. The Missouri Automobile Dealers Association recently joined the program as a sponsor and will donate the use of a new car for Williams.