Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Warsaw's Lincoln Elementary School teacher Gena Kendall recently was named one of 10 finalists for 2002 Indiana Teacher of the Year.
"I was shocked and very excited" to hear of the nomination, Kendall said today. She has taught at Lincoln since 1995, teaching fifth grade until 1998, and is in her fourth year of teaching first grade.
Kendall, 40, will travel to Indianapolis Tuesday for an interview before a six-member panel that will decide the Teacher of the Year and the runner-up.
"I'm very proud to teach in Warsaw - it's a great corporation to work for," said Kendall, who began her teaching career in Niles, Mich. "There's a lot of people at Lincoln who have helped get me to this point. It's a responsibility that I take very seriously with my teaching and I'm proud to represent Warsaw schools at the state level."
Nominations are made by local school superintendents based on "the teacher's exceptional qualities and accomplishments (as) described by students and former students, colleagues and supervisors and friends from their communities," according to Suellen Reed, superintendent of public instruction.
The Teacher of the Year will be announced in September and will represent Indiana in the national competition in Washington, D.C., next spring.
There are more than 60,000 teachers in Indiana's 294 public school districts and accredited nonpublic schools.
