Celebrating Excellence: The Teacher of the Year

Krystal Culpepper poses with flowers given to celebrate her nomination as the teacher of the year. (Eagle Talon Archive)

The 2024 Teacher of the Year has officially been decided; the award goes to Krystal Culpepper.

After 14 years of hard work and dedication, Krystal Culpepper, the IB coordinator and counselor, has recently been voted the 2024 Teacher of the Year.

“Honestly it’s an honor because not a lot of school counselors get recognized for teacher of the year,” Culpepper said.

Teacher of the Year is a staff-chosen award.  This means that the school administration will nominate their peers and then, after the nominations are narrowed down, they will vote for a finalist.

“It’s something that my colleagues voted for me so they can see the work that I’m doing, so it was very heartwarming to know that they recognize the work that goes into being a school counselor,” Culpepper stated.

As an IB counselor and coordinator, Culpepper is responsible for many different things.  From helping the school maintain its prestigious status to assisting students with college admissions, scheduling, personal matters, and even graduation requirements.

“There are a lot of different facets to our job. So, we are supposed to do things that will help students not only currently in their academics at school but preparing for their post-secondary goals,” Culpepper revealed.  “And then as the IB coordinator, I have to ensure that all of the things that are required for our school to maintain its status as an IB world school are in place, making sure that teachers are slated for training when they need to be slated for training, making sure that when we undergo program evaluation for our school that all those elements are in place.”

Culpepper grew up surrounded by teachers, her mom and aunts serving as excellent role models.  She knew from a very young age that she wanted to work in education.

“My mom was a teacher, she taught grades four through six, so I was always around it. I have 2 aunts who are teachers as well. So, I kind a like always spent my days after school helping around classrooms,” Culpepper said.

Culpepper also knew from a young age that she wanted to be a school counselor, especially after her negative experience with her high school counselor, which inspired her to pursue this career.

“I did want to be a school counselor because my school counselor was awful, did not help at all,” Culpepper said. “My whole high school experience I saw my counselor two times and that was it.”

Culpepper did not initially intend to specialize in the IB curriculum.  However, she was introduced to the program during an internship at another school and quickly became enamored with its ideology.

“And I just, I fell in love with the philosophy and how it helps students to be more globally minded and just thinking about how they can make a better more peaceful world,” Culpepper said.

Though her job can be overwhelming and stressful, Culpepper never fails to stay positive and have a lasting effect on her students’ lives.  She says one of her favorite parts of her job is when former students come back to visit her.

“I appreciate them coming back and sharing their stories and they always talk about how Paxon helped them so much, and they were so prepared, and it makes it feel like, okay, it’s worth it.”