South Middle School teacher named Joplin Teacher of the Year

Apr. 8—South Middle School math teacher Nicole Peters was named Joplin's 2024 Fred Laas Teacher of the Year during a Monday assembly.

"First of all, thank you. Second of all, I'm going to give you a little slice of pie," Peters said during a brief acceptance speech.

She then quickly proceeded to quote pi, the mathematical constant, to many digits.

"I love nerding out with math," Peters said after the assembly. "I love to show students that it's OK to be passionate about something that's nerdy and still have that dual personality. I played in the orchestra in college, and I was on the track and cross country team in high school and college, but I'm still a math nerd. It's OK to have different personalities and be passionate about things that are nerdy and athletic."

Peters is in her 19th year teaching math with the Joplin School District, first at Memorial Middle School and now at South Middle School.

Selected from the nearly 700 teachers in the district, Peters will move on to compete at the Southwest Missouri level and possibly for Missouri Teacher of the Year.

"We want to celebrate public education all throughout Southwest Missouri, we have fine teachers in every single district," said Kerry Sachetta, Joplin superintendent. "All the teachers who are submitted for the award are excellent. It's a fantastic honor as far as we can get into that state contest."

In introducing Peters for the award Monday, Sachetta said she is respected in the district for both her teaching and leadership skills. Peters builds positive relationships with students, holding them to high expectations by contributing to a positive learning atmosphere in and out of the classroom.

"She runs an activity-based classroom with lessons often supplemented by video homework assignments and engaging classroom activities, making math more than just a routine lecture," Sachetta said.

Sachetta said Peters is extensively involved in a leadership role at South Middle School and across the district. In this district leadership, she plays a pivotal role in developing curriculum, which helps make sure Joplin students are where they should be in terms of math.

"It's important that teachers have a broad influence in their classroom, but we also cherish the work they do with everyone else in the district because we're trying to work together to improve," Sachetta said.

For her part, Peters said she was surprised by the honor. South Middle School staff and students did a good job of keeping the award a secret.

"I feel tremendously lucky," Peters said. "I have so many colleagues that are very deserving of an award. I feel honored to be chosen and in a very elite group of people that have come before me."

Peters said one of the things that has contributed to her teaching success is her ability to be willing to make mistakes and to continue trying new things.

"I've done one teaching system for quite a few years now, and this year I realized it just wasn't working," Peters said. "After 19 years, I'm right in the thick of it and trying new things again this year."

Peters said she's had lots of help from the South Middle School staff, especially from teacher Jessica Giddens. Everyone is willing to listen to her plans and help tweak them.

"It's definitely a team collaborative effort to be here today," Peters said.

Peters certainly knows something about teams, as she also serves as a track and cross country coach for the district. In fact, she attended Monday's assembly in her track clothes because she had a track meet later that afternoon.