Idaho Teacher of the Year

For her 43rd birthday Sept. 22, Rathdrum special education teacher Ana Vazquez-Schnepf got the surprise celebration of a lifetime.

Not only was the entire student body at her school, John Brown Elementary, invited, but representatives from the local Wal-Mart were there to give her a present – a $10,000 present.

Vazquez-Schnepf was honored as the mega-box store’s Idaho Teacher of the Year in an all-school assembly that day and was awarded a check for $10,000 to use for the school.

The award was a total surprise, she said.

“I thought the winners weren’t announced until November,” she said as her husband, Chris, and the parent who nominated her, Jamie Russell, looked on. Both knew about the award a while back but worked with school officials to keep it a surprise.

“We have to talk about what we’re going to do with $10,000, huh, boys and girls?” Vazquez-Schnepf told the nearly 500 kids gathered in the John Brown gymnasium.

She said the money will likely be used to upgrade the school’s playground, something the parent-teacher organization, of which she is vice chairman, has been working on for several years.

Vazquez-Schnepf had to write answers to a series of questions about her teaching style and about her community involvement and thoughts on the state of education when filling out the award application.

Along with the money, Vazquez-Schnepf received a crystal apple trophy, a certificate, business cards, a personalized leather tote and a one-year membership to Phi Delta Kappa International, the education association that sponsors the awards with Wal-Mart. The school also gets an “Idaho Teacher of the Year” banner to display in the building

Vazquez-Schnepf and the 49 other state teachers of the year now move to the national competition, where the grand prize is $25,000.

A major congratulations

When Kootenai High School Principal Rich Lund was honored as this year’s Outstanding Secondary Principal by the Idaho Association of Secondary Schools, he already had a couple celebrations lined up for him. He’ll travel to Washington, D.C., in October to attend the National Principals Conference, where he’ll meet U.S Education Secretary Margaret Spellings. And he’ll officially receive the award in January at the association of secondary schools conference in Boise.

But at home in Harrison, community members had their own congratulations for him.

Lund’s cousin, Dennis Irish, organized a community party for him and even worked with the city to get the day of the party – Sept. 9 – dedicated in his name. Sept. 9, 2006, is officially Rich Lund Day in Harrison, and Lund has his own key to the city, courtesy of Harrison Mayor Jo Prophet.

Irish said Lund’s humility and modesty made him wary of a citywide celebration in his honor.

“When I told him that we were going to do something he said, ‘Boy, I don’t think there’s going to be a very good turnout.’ He said being a principal is a tough job, and you can’t always please everyone,” Irish said.

But apparently Lund was dead wrong.

Irish estimated between 250 and 300 people showed up for the celebration in Harrison City Park, which was complete with free food and live music. For the tiny town near the south end of Lake Coeur d’Alene that claims just 267 residents, “that was pretty incredible,” Irish said.

Lund’s wife and two grown daughters attended the celebration, something he said was “extremely important.” He said the celebration was a bit overwhelming, but it was also very touching.

Lund, a lifelong Harrison resident and a 1969 graduate of Kootenai High School, said he feels privileged in receiving the award and the congratulatory celebrations but credits his staff and students with winning it for him.

“I think this award is basically because of the great staff I’ve got, because of the great kids I’ve got,” Lund said. “I have the best kids in the country. … It makes my job very easy.”