Teacher of the Year

By Betsy Rogers

(Editor's Note 06/05: This blog is now closed. Many thanks to Betsy Rogers for her hard work sharing her year with us. Read Ms. Rogers new blog, located at the Teacher Leaders Network, slated to start in August 2005.)

Betsy Rogers, a 20-year teaching veteran from Alabama, was named National Teacher of the Year in 2003. Ms. Rogers spent her year as National Teacher traveling the country and talking with educators about her belief that the best way to close the equity gap is to put the strongest teachers in the weakest schools.

After finishing her tour, Ms. Rogers decided to practice what she preached, choosing to work at Brighton Elementary School, the “neediest school” in Jefferson County, Alabama. In this, Teacher Magazine’s inaugural blog, Ms. Rogers reflects on her year at Brighton, and how her experience there meshed with her expectations. (Views reflected herein are strictly those of Ms. Betsy Rogers.)