Inman teacher is state’s best

Inman Primary instructor Carol Nielsen is the Professional Educators of Iowa’s Teacher of the Year award recipient.

The award was presented to Nielsen at a special ceremony on Wednesday, May 17. According to PEI representative Jodie Nation, the award is a state-wide honor given to one teacher who portrays the essence of professionalism.

“The letters of recommendation we received this year, quite frankly, made the committee’s choice easy. Nielsen was described as patient, dedicated, intuitive, inspiring and knowledgeable. One colleague stated that Nielsen was one of the hardest working teachers in the district, and could be found working in her classroom until 7 or 8 p.m. preparing for the next day,” said Nation.

Nielsen, who has been with the Red Oak district for the last 10 years, started as a kindergarten teacher before moving to first grade two years ago. Nielsen said she was honored to receive the award, but felt the award could have gone to anyone at Inman.

“The first thing that comes to mind is that I’m not any more deserving of this than all of these other awesome teachers I work with. We have a fantastic staff here at Inman, and I feel privileged to be a part of this professional group,” Nielsen said.

In addition to receiving the award, Nielsen was also surprised by her family, who came in to see the presentation.

“Gayle Allensworth told me to turn around, and I wasn’t sure why, and then I saw all of them together. I’ve never had that kind of excitement before in my life. It was very special that my family was here. Many came from a long way just to be here,” Nielsen commented.

In addition to the award, Nielsen also received a check for $500. Nielsen said deciding what to do with the prize money is a fun conundrum.

“I have no idea what I will do with the money, but I will certainly think about it, and enjoy thinking about that,” said Nielsen.