A Star in the Classroom

Written By Patricia Rouzer

Some of us just go to a “job” everyday; others carefully plot “career paths” calculated to bring fame or fortune.

But for April Sexton, work is a true vocation–a calling that delivers satisfaction and challenge. April is Carroll’s “Teacher of the Year.” Her work at Shiloh Middle School is her passion.

Many of us were well into adulthood before we figured out what we were “going to be” when we grew up. For April the question was, well, a no-brainer. Now in her 13th year in the classroom, she has never regretted the critical career choice she made in childhood. Nor has she ever ceased to be amazed by her students.

“Even when I was little I played school,” she said. “I loved it.” And now that she has traded playmates and dolls for actual students, she finds her role at the front of the classroom even more satisfying than she had imagined. “I love working with kidsÉI love it when I see the light bulb go on–when I can see a child has made Ôthe connection’ or is excited about learning something new.”

A life sciences teacher, April graduated from what was then Western Maryland College with a bachelor’s degree in biology, a minor in chemistry, and the requisite education courses to prepare her for the classroom. She later earned a master’s in secondary school administration.

Her first assignment was teaching Earth Sciences at Northwest Middle School in Taneytown. After 10 years there, she moved to Shiloh in Hampstead.

In college, April thought she would teach high school. But at Northwest she discovered the special joys of teaching “tweens”–that magical, evolutionary, sometimes confounding age of almost-past-childhood when most kids are focused on becoming “cool” teens, but can still pause to be visibly wowed by new ideas and discoveries.

“Middle schoolers are still learning and growing–you can make such an impression on them.” she said. “They still look to their teachers for guidance. It is a time when they are changing so rapidly–and learning how to handle change.”

Clearly, April’s students are as impressed by her dedication to them as she is dedicated to their growth and education. Her students recommended her for the Teacher of the Year honor–a title bestowed by the county’s Chamber of Commerce each year. To be considered, each nominee must submit an essay about teaching and participate in an interview.

Each county and Baltimore City selects a Teacher of the Year, who then participates in a state-wide competition. And, although April was not selected for the state title, she is enjoying the opportunity to participate and share ideas with teachers across the state through committees and gatherings for these elite educators.

Among the most enjoyable byproducts of her “ToY” title is her participation in ThinkPort, an on-line teacher resource sponsored by Maryland Public Television. ThinkPort offers a section designed for new teachers to which April has contributed ideas for helping teaching neophytes cope with a variety of classroom issues.

Thinking back to her own entree into the school system as a novice teacher, she has empathy for those new to the classroom. “There are a number of things that new teachers may struggle with,” she said. “As someone who has been in the classroom for a while, I like helping new teachers with ideas and strategies.”

April’s fellow teachers–both those at Shiloh and others around the county–have been supportive and enthusiastic about her “Teacher of the Year” honor, she said. But those getting the most mileage out of her new-found recognition are her own children–a first grader and a third grader–who have enthusiastically informed their own teachers on multiple occasions that “Mommy is a star.”

“They think it is wonderful,” she laughed, adding that she has tried to explain to them that everyone may not be as enthusiastic about it as they are–but their fervor remains undiminished.

As the county’s Teacher of the Year, April said, she also enjoys being a “voice for teachers.”

“Most teachers went into this profession because we love to work with children and we know that the things that we do in the classroom today will have an impact on our student’s lives years from now,” she said. “We work hard and we have the best of intentions. We recognize that every student learns–maybe at different rates and in different ways–and we invest our time and talents into making that happen. Sometimes it doesn’t hurt to remind people why we chose to be there for our students every day.”

“I love teaching,” said the 35-year-old educator. “It keeps me fresh and it keeps me young. And my students inspire me to keep up on new technology, on new ideas, on new discoveries.”