2006 Outstanding Rural Middle School Teacher
Nancy Probstfeld
Launch the media gallery 1 player2006 marks the eighth year of outstanding service that Nancy Probstfeld has given to education. Ms. Probstfeld is a sixth grade language arts and social studies teacher in the Crane Middle School in Crane, Missouri.
Normally, educators that might be classified as outstanding have acquired those skills over a number of years or are those professionals who are in their mid to late career. However, Nancy Probstfeld has provided excellent teaching skills to the Crane students from the first day of her employment with the Crane School District.
Ms. Probstfeld impresses her colleagues with her ability to work with a variety of students with differing ability levels. She brings a sense of urgency to her classroom mixed with a healthy dose of enthusiasm that produces quantifiable results, happy and controlled students, and satisfied, if not ecstatic parents. Nancy personifies the type of teacher all of us in the educational field should try to emulate and the type of teacher all children should be so fortunate to experience.
The faculty and staff at Crane are impressed with her working relationship. Nancy is always the one you notice during staff discussions, smiling and talking with gestures to emphasize the thrill she has for teaching. She brings a special effervescence to the day-to-day struggles that all of us face.
Ms. Probstfeld fulfills a number of leadership roles in the Crane district including curriculum development and scheduling professional development opportunities for her co-workers.
The students refer to her as a good friend when often times they were of the opinion that they had no friends. She often writes individual letters of encouragement to kids in their time of need. Her teaching style and enthusiasm for learning "changed the pathway" in a positive direction for many students.
Ms. Probstfeld has inserted her personality, ethics, and excitement for learning into the hearts and minds of her students.