Lincoln teachers awarded in “Thank You Teacher” contest

Five of Lincoln's teachers were selected from more than 400 nominations.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Timed out to celebrate Nebraska Teacher Appreciation Day, Lincoln Public Schools is giving five teachers some extra appreciation as part of their annual Thank You Teacher awards. The Wednesday morning event brings educators to the Nebraska Governor’s Mansion to hear from the very students who nominated them for this special recognition.

Angie Stahl is a special education teacher at Holmes Elementary, and she’s one of those lucky winners. You could say she was caught a little off guard when she first got the news.

“When I saw them come to my door I was shocked. I didn’t know what was happening”, Angie recalls. “They took some of the other kids out of my room and I was a little concerned at first because I didn’t know what was going on.”

Now that the shock has worn off, Angie is able to reflect on what this special honor means during such a difficult time in the education world.

“I think it’s just knowing all the work you’ve put into the kids, and into just keeping everything as normal as possible just makes it worth it”, she says.

As Angie tells it, though, this is just one extra highlight in a job that’s already full of daily rewards.

“Seeing the progress that the kids make, the small little things that I get to celebrate with them every day is very rewarding”, she says. “It takes a long time to attain a skill and when they finally get it and they’re excited about it, that’s very rewarding.”

Angie has experienced a lot of that sort of thing in her 18 years at Holmes.

“I have a lot of students that I follow through middle school and high school”, says Angie, “so it’s just kind of fun to see the progress they’ve made, and where they’re at now, and what they’re doing.”

Angie Stahl, along with four others, will be at the opposite end of that spectrum on Wednesday, as everyone gets to see all that they’ve done.