Winfield’s Tabatha Rosproy has been named the 2020 National Teacher of the Year.
Rosproy was one of four finalists and the first Kansas teacher to receive the honor since 1962.
She was announced as the winner live on national news Thursday morning.
“I’m overwhelmed with joy,” Rosproy told CBS This Morning. “I’m so honored to represent what’s best about education and all the incredible, hardworking people that are the educators in our country.”
Rosproy, a preschool educator for Winfield Early Learning Center, teaches in a program nestled within a retirement village and nursing home that includes interaction with residents. Rosproy has helped the Cumbernauld Little Vikes program build new social capital in the community while also boasting the highest preschool literacy and math scores in the district.
Rosproy’s full interview with CBS This Morning can be viewed below:
The National Teacher of the Year Program identifies exceptional teachers nationwide, celebrates their effective work in and outside of the classroom, amplifies their voices and empowers them to take part in policy discussions at the state and national levels, according to the the Council of Chief State School Officers.
Each year, since 1952, the National Teacher of the Year has been recognized by the White House.
Rosproy was announced as the 2020 Kansas Teacher of the Year in November 2019. She began her career as an early childhood teacher at the Heartland Programs Head Start in Salina, Salina USD 305, in 2010. She became an early childhood special education teacher at the Winfield Early Learning Center in 2014.
Rosproy received her bachelor’s degree in early childhood unified, with a minor in English, in 2009 from Southwestern College. She is currently working on obtaining her master’s degree in education, English as a secondary or other language, from Fort Hays State University.
“We are so proud of Tabatha and excited to have her represent the state of Kansas,” said Kansas Commissioner of Education Dr. Randy Watson in a press release from the Kansas Department of Education. “She is a remarkable educator whose passion for the profession is reflected daily in the eyes of her young students and in the members of the retirement community who volunteer in her classroom.
“Her ability to bridge this generational gap in a single classroom is perhaps one of the richest experiences we can offer our students and our communities.”
In the press release form the Kansas Department of Education, Rosproy said teaching in the Sunflower State helped hone her skills as an educator.
“Kansas is a model for rethinking education, and teachers across the nation are being charged to do just that during these trying times,” she said. “There is no place that could have better prepared me for this honor.
“I hope to bring a voice to the important role early childhood education plays in our society, but also to the powerful role social-emotional education at all age levels plays. Now, more than ever, we are being reminded that our children must have the ability to regulate their emotions, to connect and to think critically about the world around them. Together, we can help them develop these essential skills.”
Rosproy recently helped lead Kansas in preparing for learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Kansas Department of Education.
She was one of three co-chairs of the Continuous Learning Task Force, which developed guidance for Kansas educators to meet the immediate need of supporting learning outside of normal practices. Rosproy served on the task force while continuing to teach her own students at Cumbernauld Little Vikes.
Her classroom is housed in Cumbernauld Village, a retirement community and nursing home in Winfield. The program is an intergenerational one that provides preschoolers and residents with multiple daily interactions.
Other finalists were Chris Dier, of Louisiana; Leila Kubesch, of Ohio; and Linda Rost, of Montana.
