Cindy Couchman was pleasantly surprised at a special assembly held at 8 a-m, Friday at Buhler High School. Couchman learned that she has been selected as one of the top five teachers in America and will be feted during a three-day induction into The National Teachers Hall of Fame on June 11-14 in Emporia.
A 23-year veteran of teaching, Couchman teaches 9th to 12th grade math at Buhler High School, including Algebra, Geometry, and AP Calculus. She’s the ninth teacher from Kansas to be inducted into The National Teachers Hall of Fame, and she joins fellow Kansan Jan Alderson from Shawnee Mission South High School in this year’s class of inductees. Couchman is the 2009 Kansas Teacher of the Year and currently serves as President of the Kansas Teacher of the Year organization. She also received her National Board certification in 2006.
In June, Couchman will join four other teachers from Kansas, Michigan, New York, and Texas for a series of recognition events in Emporia, which include working with high school attendees at a Future Teacher Academy on the Emporia State University campus, presenting a live-streamed roundtable discussion, participating in community events, helping to dedicate the Memorial to Fallen Educators, and being honored at the banquet and induction ceremony. The five inductees will also be honored at a reception hosted on May 2nd by the National Education Association at their Washington DC headquarters—just in time to kick off National Teacher Appreciation Week, May 5-9.
Couchman was nominated by her Assistant Principal, Stefani Dreiling, who wrote: Cindy is a rare combination of passion, compassion, charisma, and humility. She draws students and staff in with her ability to listen and make each person feel valued. She is a cheerleader for students and staff, a life-long learner, and advocate. Influencing dozens of students to enter the field, her impact on education will be felt for generations.”
A colleague, Kyle Sides, wrote: “Cindy’s greatest attribute is her work in the classroom. Her ability to relate to students, to teach students, to engage students, and to inspire students is amazing. She videos class lessons to post online for absent students to watch. She is an extremely talented teacher, a passionate supporter of education, and an amazing leader to her students and colleagues.”
Buhler Superintendent of Schools, Michael Berblinger, explains: She not only professes but also lives out a philosophy of the 4 R’s in education. She first establishes a Relationship with each student, taking the time for home visits and one-on-one conversations with the student. She then sets high expectations for the students, which is Rigor. She constructs lessons that are Relevant to everyday life, so that her students can see how math is used outside of the classroom. Combining Relationships, Rigor, and Relevance, Mrs. Couchman sees excellent Results from her students.”
Couchman describes her philosophy “Yes, I teach mathematics, but over the years I have realized that I teach students much more than that. I teach them to believe in themselves, to work hard, and to be nice. In fact, that is my personal motto—‘Be nice, for everyone you meet has a battle going on.’”
The five educators to be inducted were selected for the Class of 2014 by a national selection committee which met in February. “The selection committee is composed of representatives from national educational organizations, corporate partners, and NTHF membership. The committee evaluates the nominees on responses to questions regarding their professional profile, their teaching both inside and outside the classroom, educational issues and accountability,” said Strickland. “It’s always a tough decision because all of the twenty semi-finalists are deserving. The committee carefully examines what each candidate has done and is doing for the teaching profession as they try to determine finalists and then inductees. This is truly an honor to be named as one of only five teachers to be selected this year.”
The National Teachers Hall of Fame was founded in Emporia in 1989 to honor teachers and the teaching profession through a recognition program and museum. Nominees must be certified public or non-public schoolteachers, active or retired, with at least 20 years of experience in teaching grades preK-12. Since the inaugural induction ceremonies in 1992, 110 educators from 37 states and the District of Columbia have been inducted. This year’s class of inductees represents the 23rd anniversary of NTHF induction ceremonies.
Some of the major awards each inductee will receive include, $1,000 in educational materials from Pearson Education, a signet ring and lapel pin presented by Herff Jones, Inc., of Indianapolis, Indiana, a large bronze sculpture of the bell tower (the NTHF logo), and a package of classroom tablets, software, charging station, classroom cloud, cases, and headphones to pilot the new technology from the Chicago-based company digedu