Beloved elementary school teacher Kelly Hine of Zionsville, Indiana, earns district honors. Photo Credit: Lebanon Reporter

It is always my pleasure to shine a spotlight on exceptional educators from around our country. Today, the light shines on Kelly Hine, an elementary school teacher from Indiana. She was named the 2022 Teacher of the Year for Zionsville Community Schools.

For the past two years, Kelly has taught first graders at Trailside Elementary School. Previously she taught kindergarten at Union Elementary School, and pre-kindergarten for two years at Pleasant View Elementary. In all, her career as an educator spans 18 years, including 11 years at schools in Fairfax, Virginia.

Kelly describes herself as a teacher’s pet in grade school, but she never imagined becoming a teacher herself. But that changed when she became involved in a cadet teaching program in her senior year of high school. As a result of the program, she fell in love with the idea of a career in the classroom.

Kelly says she loves working with younger students, because of their positive attitude and innocent sense of humor. “It’s kind of hard to have a bad day when you’re teaching first grade,” Kelly declares. “I can’t really imagine doing anything else. I still to this day just love going to work and being with the kids,” she reveals. In her classroom, Kelly says positive reinforcement and clear boundaries are her fundamental instructional practices.

Kelly credits her colleagues for a large part of her success as an educator. Observing different teaching styles and participating in professional development has played a big role in her ability to grow as a teacher and stay excited about her work, she confesses. “Teachers need to be lifelong learners,” she says. “You can’t expect your students to be excited about learning if you don’t share that passion with them,” she believes.

Kelly earned her Bachelor’s degree from Maranatha Baptist University in Watertown, Wisconsin.