COLUMBUS, Ind. — Few people can say that they want to stay in school forever — but for Angela Ginder, a sixth grade teacher at Rockcreek Elementary, that’s exactly what she set her heart on.
“I always loved school, and after having the positive influence of my own teachers when I was going through BCSC, I realized that I never wanted to leave school,” she said.
Several of these teachers, including Candace Taff Carr, Joseph Dutton, Jack Young and Tammie LeClerc, went on to win the Edna V. Folger Outstanding Teacher Award — and now, after nearly 25 years of teaching, Ginder is joining their ranks.
The Folger Award, which is sponsored by SIHO, the Community Education Coalition and the IUPUC Center for Teaching and Learning, was designed to “raise awareness about the immeasurable influence teachers have on their students and to recognize the image of teachers as important community role models.”
IUPUC’s award announcement described Ginder as “a dedicated, talented educator who works tirelessly to support her students, colleagues, her school, and her family.”
“It’s very humbling,” she said. “And there’s so many amazing educators in BCSC, that it almost feels, it’s very surreal that my name will be added to that list of, like I said, some of my former teachers. But it’s a huge honor, and I’m completely and totally thankful for my family and my administrators and all the teachers that kind of helped me get to where I am today.”
Ginder has spent her entire teaching career at Rockcreek, where she is now in her 24th year. She described getting hired as probably “the greatest stroke of luck I’ve ever had in my life.”
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
