IPS names 10 teacher of the year finalists

Ten Indianapolis Public Schools teachers have been named finalists for the district’s teacher of the year award.

The finalists were selected from among 45 teachers of the year named by each school. The district teacher of the year will be announced June 5. For more on the awards, check out the district’s brief bios of each finalist.

On Wednesday, four IPS teachers won $25,000 from the Hubbard Life-Changing Teacher Awards and six other finalists won $1,000. There were no common teachers between the two lists.

The IPS teacher of the year also is eligible for state teacher of the year.

The finalists are:

  • Jennifer Beeching-Gaines teaches high school English at McFarland School in an alternative program for student who need to adjust their schedules for difficult family or work demands. She has taught for 19 years.
  • Sarah Clark is a second grade teacher at School 60, which is the Butler University lab school. This is her fifth year teaching.
  • Katherine Hinkle is an AP Spanish teacher at Northwest High School with two years of experience.
  • Melissa Mullins teaches first grade at School 44 and has 14 years of teaching experience.
  • Denise Paramore is a literacy coach at School 90. Paramore has 26 years of teaching experience.
  • Arturo Rodriguez teaches fifth grade at School 105. He has 18 years of experience in the classroom.
  • Rosalilia Stewart is a Spanish teacher at Arsenal Tech High School who has taught for eight years.
  • Dana Stockton is a third-year kindergarten teacher at School 15.
  • Amy Wackerly is a third grade teacher at School 2, which is one of three Center for Inquiry schools in IPS. She has been a teacher for 16 years.
  • Kim Ward is a physical education and action-based learning teacher at School 19. Ward has 22 years of teaching experience.