Plus: The school mask debate continues
Meet Sarah Painter, Florida's 2022 Teacher of the Year. A fifth-grade teacher at Pinellas County's Eisenhower Elementary School, the 18-year veteran educator won recognition for her upbeat approach to one of the toughest school years in recent memory. Rather than let the pandemic stifle her, Painter worked to "find joy" in her work and bring that approach to her students and colleagues. Now an education ambassador for the state, she shared her message with us in her first interview since learning she won.
— Jeffrey S. Solochek, jsolochek@tampabay.com | |  | | [Florida Department of Education] | | 'Find something good in the moment,' Florida Teacher of the Year says | After spending a week in Orlando with the four other finalists for state Teacher of the Year, Sarah Painter said she was "100 percent surprised" when she heard her name announced at the celebration gala.
"It was so humbling," she said. "I had this imposter syndrome the whole week. ... No matter who was chosen, I knew I would be happy with the outcome."
Painter got the nod in no small part because of the positivity she brought to her class and her school despite all the difficulties that the coronavirus pandemic presented. She said she could not allow herself to get caught up in the toxic, unproductive negativity of complaining.
"We had vent sessions," Painter said. "But I always say, Now what?"
Every day depended on an intentional affirmation that you can make the best of a situation, and don't have to wallow in the worst, she explained. She brought that message to her students, and she lived it, too.
"I still got to teach. I still got to keep my passion," Painter said. "It might have looked messy ... but it was so empowering."
With the rule book rendered almost useless, she said, teachers got to write their own path to success like never before.
"I don't think I've ever grown as much professionally as I have in the last 18 months as a teacher," she said. |  | | [DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times] | During the year, she shared her viewpoint at a news conference where Gov. Ron DeSantis declared his plan to give classroom teachers and principals $1,000 bonuses for their work keeping schools open.
Painter said she never blinked at the idea of sharing the stage with the governor, whom many educators criticized for his political stance on school reopening, mask mandates and other related issues. It provided an opportunity to speak about the importance of teaching and schools, she observed.
"Any time I get to be that voice and get asked to play whatever role in that message, I will always jump at that chance," she said.
That includes offering input to the State Board of Education, a panel that some past teachers of the year have said could benefit from hearing more teacher perspective.
"I am all in," she said. "Being able to share the good things we are doing, that needs to be shared."
One of seven siblings, Painter said she got the teacher bug at a young age, when she felt the accomplishment of helping her younger sister learn to ride a bike and write in cursive. Now she considers herself a "teacher for life," who views her post as a way to leave a legacy for her students and her own six children.
"We go into teaching to serve kids. Period. That is what we do," she said. "I get asked often, since I have six kids, don't I wish I could stay home? My service as a teacher makes me a better parent. I am leaving a legacy for both parents' children and my own family."
For the first time in 19 years, though, Painter won't be in a classroom when classes resume after summer break. If you had asked her a year ago to imagine not being there, she said, "you couldn't have even finished the question before I would have said 'No.'"
These days, though, she has a new perspective. She expects to carry the torch for teaching across the state as an education ambassador, sharing ideas with others and learning from them, too.
"It is actually going to refine me as a teacher," she said.
Does that mean she will return to her Eisenhower classroom when her year ends? Maybe, maybe not.
"I am going to allow this year to open doors," she said. "I will wait for the best yes."
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Stay on top of regional and state education issues. Visit the Tampa Bay Times online for the latest news. | | | AROUND THE STATE |  | | [Times (2012)] | Some Sarasota parents want to record meetings with teachers about their children's special education plans. District officials are leery about the idea, the Herald-Tribune reports.
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