Copley named top IPTA teacher

SANDPOINT — For the second time in two years and the third time since 2006, an educator from Farmin Stidwell Elementary School has been recognized as the Idaho PTA Educator of the Year.

For 2012, the honor goes to Diane Copley, who retires at the end of this year after spending 28 years in the teaching profession.

“It’s kind of embarrassing,” said the award recipient, “because we have a whole group of outstanding teachers at this school. The things I’ve learned from them have been invaluable.”

Last year’s award recipient was kindergarten teacher Susie Haskins, who was preceded on the educator’s honor roll by Ellie Lizotte, the 2006 honoree and also a kindergarten teacher from the same school.

Farmin Stidwell — which in the past couple of years has been encouraged to seek “magnet school” status for its innovative approach to supporting student success by complementing the core curriculum with an emphasis on the creative arts and physical education — has caught the attention of the education community at the statewide level, according to Idaho PTA President Jana Lee Hatch.

“It is rare to have that many teachers from the same school receive this honor,” she said. “I congratulate Diane and Farmin Stidwell Elementary School for this great achievement. They should be commended for the great work they are doing for the youth of today.”

Before becoming a full-time elementary school teacher, Copley worked as a school secretary in Clark Fork for about four years, then went on to earn her CPA credentials. That move, however, acted as the catalyst for a career shift that took her back to the classroom setting.

“I missed the kids,” the teacher explained.

Over the course of nearly three decades, she has kept her focus on the primary grades, spending 11 years as a first-grade teacher, another eight years with second grade and nine years educating third-grade students — the age group she currently teaches and finds especially enjoyable.

“They’re still little kids,” said Copley. “They’re still very loving and enthusiastic about being in school. And they love to try new things and learn new things.”

Perhaps that shared characteristic explains why she relates so closely to her third-grade charges, because even as she prepares to wind down a successful career in education, the classroom remains her own best place to entertain a love of knowledge.

“I’m still learning, believe me,” she said.

Quick to spread the recognition around, Copley insisted that the Educator of the Year award should be seen as a tribute to the entire teaching staff at her school, not a spotlight on one individual educator.  

“I’m the third teacher from Farmin Stidwell to be singled out for this honor,” she said. “That says a lot about our school, our teachers and our school administration.”

From the administrator’s perspective, Copley deserves the statewide spotlight.

“Diane is a soft spoken treasure,” said Anne Bagby, principal at Farmin Stidwell. “She nurtures each and every child and daily provides outstanding instruction designed so that every child succeeds.”

Copley drew attention to the school’s educational philosophy — which includes healthy doses of art, music and P.E. as allies in the learning process — as one reason Farmin Stidwell’s name keeps showing up on the Educator of the Year roster.

“The arts help to meet the individual student’s needs and that helps their attitude about learning,” she said. “P.E., music, art — all of those special subjects make a real difference.”

Just as important, she stressed, has been the active involvement of the school’s PTA, which keeps Farmin Stidwell buzzing year-round with events and often provides supplemental financial support to buy supplies for both classroom teachers and specialists. That energy is infectious, pulling in community volunteers who further augment the positive learning environment.

“The PTA brings a lot of activities and support to Farmin Stidwell,” Copley said. “And because we’re a neighborhood school, we have the support of families and volunteers.”

When asked what subject she most likes to teach, the award recipient pounced on one, immediately mentioned another and then admitted to a fondness for several corners of the elementary curriculum.

“Science has always been of interest to me, but I also like literature and language arts,” she said. “And I’ve really enjoyed teaching math. I guess I should say, ‘everything.’”

Copley at first intended to spend only a year or two teaching in Bonner County, having had her eye on a position with the Department of Defense, where she would be guaranteed a life filled with travel as part the educator’s job. Twenty-eight years later — all of them spent in Bonner County — she’s happy with the outcome. Over that period of time, she has watched as education budgets ebbed and flowed, technology became embedded in the classroom and the role of teachers evolved to adapt to those changes.

“We went from making up our own curriculum and scraping up the materials for our own teaching units to having a very scripted curriculum — that’s been the biggest change,” she said.

“Testing has also changed,” she continued. “When I first started teaching, we would give quarterly tests. Now we give weekly tests to monitor improvement.”

Queried about her thoughts on the more rigid testing environment, Copley folded her hands on her desk and sat quietly before the corners of her mouth lifted and she gave an answer that was the picture of educational equanimity.

“It keeps the teacher accountable,” she said, “and it gives us records to show progress — or lack of it — to the parents.

“That’s where the arts come in,” she quickly added. “They are periods of learning that are also periods of relief from testing.”

Kids have changed, too, the teacher said, sporting shorter attention spans that require a different kind of classroom interaction.

“I respond to that by pulling each student into conversations and discussions,” Copley explained. “I see them as individuals and I become involved with them. Students may not be as attentive as they used to be, but they all want their voice to be heard.”

Those personal relationships have stood the test of time, with former students stopping by to visit, others calling to check in and some re-entering her life through chance encounters.

“Last fall, a man came up to me in the store and gave me a big hug,” Copley recalled. “He was a little boy I had taught in first grade years ago.

“He remembered me,” the teacher said. “I tear up just thinking about it.”

Stepping away from a daily timetable that she calls “hectic, but enjoyable” may prove to be the biggest adjustment of all for the retiring teacher, who said she works best within the kind of regimented system of bells and book work that go along with life in the classroom. As part of her new schedule, she foresees remaining active in Alpha Delta Kappa — an international honorary association of women educators — and pursuing the opportunity to travel that eluded her when she began a teaching career. The first outing will be an Alaskan cruise set for this fall.

“Next year, when school starts, I’ll be on a ship instead of thinking about putting together a classroom,” she said. “I’ll be retired — and I’ll be redefining myself.”

Diane Copley will be presented with the Educator of the Year award at a luncheon on April 28, during the Idaho PTA Convention at Boise State University, where she will address the attendees. Also attending will be the National PTA President-elect, Otha Thornton, who will be the keynote speaker at the awards luncheon.