NEW PALESTINE — New Palestine Junior High School (NPJHS) Language Arts and High Ability lead teacher, Alaina Green, has been named as the New Palestine Community School District Teacher of the Year (TOY).
Green said hearing her name called as the Teacher of the Year for NPJHS was thrilling enough, but being named the District TOY was a complete surprise.
“I means a lot and, yes, it was a shock because I can say I don’t like the spotlight or having attention, and that’s because I still feel like as an educator there are so many things I can do better so for me. I’m not quite there yet, but I’m thankful for the award,” Green said.
Green noted there are so many awesome educators in the school district and to have her name called as the TOY for the 2023-24 school year is truly a great honor.
“Getting the award does give a person a confidence boost because as a teacher you try to find your niche where the passion lies in education,” Green said.
District officials made the TOY announcement late last week including naming all individual building TOY educators. The individual building TOY educators are Crystal Maple, Sugar Creek Elementary; Julie Peper, Brandywine Elementary School; Jenny Kleine, New Palestine Elementary; Holly Torgersen, New Palestine Intermediate School; Nancy Workman, New Palestine High School and Green from New Palestine Junior High School who was then named the District TOY.
Green, who has three children of her own, — an eighth grader, a six grader and a second grader — said working with young teenagers trying to prepare them for high school is a wonderful job, even if at times it can be tough.
She currently teaches two standard Language Arts classes and two High Ability Language Arts classes for students at NPJHS.
“High ability through the years as become my passion,” Green said.
Green likes working with the high ability kids because she noted, they’re “quirky” — a word she used to describe herself.
“Many of the high ability kids ask lots of questions — the why — wanting to know more. They can make random connections and I relate to that,” Green said.
Green earned her high ability license as a way to continue her education and make sure she was completely qualified to teach the high ability students. She said that while there are many things she likes about education, the biggest thing is connecting with students.
Green also noted that her mother was an elementary teacher along with two aunts, so teaching kind of runs in the family.
“I always heard about teaching at family events and thought it was kind of neat. Plus the idea of helping other people was appealing to me, so I became a teacher,” Green said.
However, Green said, she realized early on in teaching that she wasn’t an elementary educator but did enjoy working with teens who are a little more independent, but not quite in high school.
“I kind of lucked out trying junior high school and really liked it,” Green said. “Every day with the kids is a new day. That can be exhausting yet rewarding, seeing how kids progress throughout the year.”
A graduate of Hanover College, where Green earned a degree in English, she taught two years of high school in Madison before starting at the junior high school (Doe Creek Middle School) in New Palestine in 2005.
“I kind of found my home and stayed,” Green said.
When she first got into teaching, jobs in education were tough to find, unlike now where there is a teacher shortage.
“It’s a lot harder for teachers nowadays, particularly English teachers because families and kids are so busy being pulled in so many directions, and reading isn’t a priority like it should be,” Green said.
It’s why she enjoys getting kids to slow down, put the electronics down, delve into her class and learn the importance of Language Arts.
“We know parents who want their children to have a love of books, but nowadays there is a lot of instant gratification, where, with books, the kids need to have the stamina and patience reading requires, and that’s challenging because kids don’t on their own very often sit down and read,” Green said. “It’s s little bit of a battle.”
Green notes reading is still the best way to learn about different places, lifestyles and life.
“Reading just exposes you to so many things you might not be able to ever encounter but through books,” she said. “It’s just the good ole fashion way to develop empathy, step inside someone else’s shoes, and I worry nowadays kids don’t have the time to do that.”
