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ISTA Honors Hoosier Educator Of The Year

Last updated on Monday, May 8, 2017

(INDIANAPOLIS) - The Indiana State Teachers Association presented two awards today during the ISTA Representative Assembly, the annual business meeting of the association. In front of more than 250 ISTA delegate members, the winners of the Hoosier Educator of the Year and the David Hanna Golden Touch awards were honored.

The Hoosier Educator of the Year was awarded to Carissa Richardson-Lahrman for her excellence in teaching, advocacy for the profession, community engagement and leadership in professional development. Richardson-Lahrman is a seventh-grade math, science and engineering technology teacher at Towles New Tech in Fort Wayne. With more than 10 years of teaching, she is in her last year of pursuing National Board Certification in Early Adolescence Science.

Richardson-Lahrman has served on the Fort Wayne Education Association's (FWEA) executive board, acted as an association representative and worked on discussion, compensation and Every Student Succeeds Act implementation teams. She also created and maintains the FWEA website.

Her community involvement centers on education. Richardson-Lahrman administers the Fort Wayne Sister Cities Student Exchange Program.

"Carissa's continuing dedication to public education and her students easily recommended her as this year's Hoosier Educator of the Year," said ISTA President Teresa Meredith. "She gives back to her kids, school and community while also improving her teaching practice. She's a shining example of what Hoosier public school educators accomplish daily."

The Hoosier Educator of the Year is presented in partnership with Horace Mann Educators Corporation.

The David Hanna Golden Touch Award was presented to Saundra Brown. This award recognizes a retired educator who has demonstrated continued leadership in the association and the community. Brown worked for 40 years in Washington Township and Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility. Since retiring, Brown has served as her retired chapter treasurer, on the Greater Indianapolis Retired Chapter Executive Board and on the ISTA-Retired Statewide District Council. She was also appointed to a special term as the retired representative for ISTA's Minority Affairs Committee. Additionally, Brown works to promote literacy through the NEA program Read Across America and local community programs.

"She is a tireless retired volunteer," said ISTA-Retired Chair Rod Ellcessor. "She has worked for years and countless hours as a volunteer in the association."

About: Indiana State Teachers Association, Indiana's largest professional education employee organization, is committed to advancing the cause of public education. ISTA's nearly 40,000 members work at every level of education. ISTA has affiliate organizations in each Indiana county and in nearly 300 local school districts.

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