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Riverton Parke educator honored as Indiana Rural Teacher of Year

By ANDREA MCCANN
Indiana Correspondent

MONTEZUMA, Ind. — Community involvement, as well as commitment to his students and rural education, lifted Michael Lunsford to the top of outstanding rural educators in Indiana.
Lunsford, who teaches English, humanities, film literature and college challenge U.S. history at Riverton Parke Junior-Senior High School, was named 2009 Rural Teacher of the Year by the Indiana Small and Rural Schools Assoc. (ISRSA).

“Mr. Lunsford has all of the characteristics we look for in a great teacher,” said Katrina Hall, ISRSA board member and Indiana Farm Bureau (IFB) finance and tax specialist. “He challenges students to do their best inside and outside the classroom and contributes to the school system and his community.”

IFB has had a representative on the ISRSA board since its inception and donates an annual $1,000 monetary award to the Teacher of the Year. Hall said from the IFB’s standpoint, it’s important to support rural education because it’s such an important part of the fabric of rural communities. She said the hope is that the recognition encourages excellence.

According to Hall and Lunsford’s boss, Principal Dennis Moody, Lunsford goes above and beyond the duties of the average classroom teacher. He said one way Lunsford accomplishes this is to take his students on field trips so they can experience activities, such as the symphony, that they might not otherwise get to do.
“He wants kids to be well-rounded,” Moody said, adding that Lunsford supports Riverton Parke student athletics, as well as academics. “The kids think he’s a challenging educator.”

Moody said approximately 120-140 students each year are impacted by Lunsford’s teaching.

A graduate of Indiana State University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in American History and English, Lunsford’s philosophy is lifetime learning. On his school website, he said: “Education is a lifelong experience, and I hope that my students see me as someone who loves to learn while I teach.

“Student self-esteem is important to me, but only true self-esteem – the kind that students gain as a result of their own hard work and effort. I love teaching, and I know it is the only job that I will ever have.”

Besides his teaching responsibilities, Lunsford is the Academic Bowl and Spell Bowl coordinator and coach at the school, which has a student population of 450. He also produces a monthly newsletter and provides articles and photographs about school events and activities to several area newspapers.

Lunsford lives in rural Parke County with his wife, Joan, and children, Ellen and Evan. He’s spent all of his 29 years as an educator in the Southwest Parke Community School Corp.
“He’s had opportunities to go elsewhere, but he thoroughly enjoys the rural setting,” Moody said.

Lunsford is consistently nominated for “Who’s Who,” according to the principal, and won WTHI-TV’s 1998 Golden Apple Award. Other awards to his credit include Indiana State History Teacher of the Year from the Daughters of the American Revolution and District 6 Teacher of the Year from the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Supported by his students, he’s been nominated by them for the Indiana Academic All-Star teaching award and named to the National Honor Roll of Outstanding Teachers.

“It’s good for professional educators to be recognized,” said Moody, who nominated Lunsford for the ISRSA award. “I’m very proud of him. He certainly sets a wonderful example for the rest of the staff.”

Lunsford will be recognized again for this award at the Sept. 28 meeting of the ISRSA and at the annual convention of the National Rural Education Assoc. in Cincinnati, Ohio, in October.

9/24/2009