FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – Shellie Kale-Burden, a first-grade teacher at Brentwood Elementary School has been named the 2023 Fort Wayne Community Schools Elementary Teacher of the Year.
Kale-Burden has taught for 25 years, the past five at Brentwood. Kale-Burden believes in her students, and her passion is to help all students be successful readers. “It is my passion to unlock the code of reading,” she said. “If a child can read, they can succeed.”
Kale-Burden describes her room as a safe place; one that is open to all students who might need a place to recharge or refocus.
FWCS representatives released the following:
“Making every moment matter is critical,” she said. “I only have 180 days to make a positive difference. If a child remembers that in the first grade ‘I was loved, and I learned to read’ then I was successful.”
Candidates for Teacher of the Year are nominated by building principals with finalists chosen by a committee of administrators. The other elementary finalists this year were Jared Flotow, a third-grade teacher at Study Elementary, Kaitlin Huffman, a first-grade teacher at South Wayne Elementary, Amy Stephenson, a first-grade teacher at St. Joseph Central Elementary, and Rosemarie Suddeth, a kindergarten teacher at Levan Scott Academy. Kale-Burden will now be nominated for Indiana Teacher of the Year.
2023 Elementary Teacher of the Year, Finalists and Nominees
School
Elementary Schools
Jennifer Ehret
Abbett Elementary
Kayla Shepherd
Adams Elementary
Alejandro Rodriguez Olvera
Arlington Elementary
Shellie Kale-Burden, Elementary Teacher of the Year
Brentwood Elementary
Katie Gerdts
Bunche Montessori ECC
Brandi Michael
Croninger Elementary
Tara Adams
Fairfield Elementary
Lisa Sexton
Forest Park Elementary
Dannielle Smith
Franke Park Elementary
Anna Renninger
Glenwood Park Elementary
Kirsten Grotemat
Haley Elementary
Jessica Ferguson
Harris Elementary
Sarah Truex
Harrison Hill Elementary
Elizabeth Davis
Indian Village Elementary
Julie Burns
Irwin Elementary
Rosemarie Suddeth, Finalist
Levan Scott Academy
Natalie Cagnet
Lincoln Elementary
Kari Reynolds
Lindley Elementary
Renee Wyss
Maplewood Elementary
Jaimie Houghton-Thompson
Northcrest Elementary School
Jenny Hantz
Price Elementary
Kaitlin Huffman, Finalist
South Wayne Elementary
Amy Stephenson, Finalist
St. Joseph Central Elementary
Jared Flotow, Finalist
Study Elementary
Stephanie Stuchell
Washington Elementary
Samantha Koch
Washington Center Elementary
Sandi MacDonald
Waynedale Elementary
Tami Carlyle
Whitney Young Early Childhood
Jennifer Brown
Fort Wayne Virtual Academy
