State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tommy Bice recently announced the coveted title of Alabama Teacher of the Year at an awards ceremony in Montgomery, and this year’s winner is from Hoover.
Suzanne Culbreth, a math teacher at Spain Park High School is the Alabama Teacher of the Year for 2012.
With the title, Culbreth assumes the role of official spokesperson and representative for teachers in Alabama for the next year.
“I am so proud to be an advocate for the classroom teacher,” she said. “I’m very honored and humbled and thankful to my family and to my Spain Park High School family for supporting me.”
The awards ceremony, which honors all of the district finalists for Teacher of the Year, is held annually in celebration of these teachers’ dedication to education in Alabama public schools.
“It is an honor to present the Alabama Teacher of the Year award to Suzanne Culbreth,” Dr. Bice said. “Her passion for mathematics and ability to bring its relevance to her students is a model of 21 Century STEM education. She is a highly respected teacher leader who, in any conversation I have ever had with her, always brings to focus what is right for students.
“What a role model for current and future teachers to emulate. Congratulations to Suzanne as Alabama’s Teacher of the Year for 2012.”
Culbreth has taught at Spain Park since 2008 and at Oak Mountain High School from 2002-2008. Culbreth considers her greatest contributions to be as a supporter and encourager of fellow and future teachers.
She enjoys incorporating technology into her classroom as much as possible. Discovery is the cornerstone of her instruction. She believes students should be engaged in mathematics and tangibly experience it beyond working a set of problems successfully.
“The benefit comes not in the concept taught but in the process of learning, which can be applied to life.” she said.
