2020 Teacher of the Year:
Stacie Lawler
Stacie Lawler was born to teach physical education and health as she fell in love with the subject as a high school student in Salmon, Idaho. Lawler received her bachelor of arts in physical education from Concordia University in 1994 and began her career at East Canyon Elementary. After four years of teaching, Lawler decided to commit her life to her children and subsequently took time off to be a mom. As her children grew, she followed them to their schools finding ways to volunteer wherever she could help. Seeing a need for end of the year activities, Lawler organized field days and track meets. Her passion for running also led to her developing a district-wide elementary cross country meet. All the countless hours of volunteer work were noticed and appreciated by school officials, ultimately leading to a teaching position. Lawler’s second teaching job was at Twin Lakes Elementary. However, it wasn’t until she landed at Timberlake Junior High (TJH) in Spirit Lake, Idaho that she found her true calling. In her 16 years as an educator, it became apparent that junior high aged students needed her most. After her teenage son’s bout with depression, she found herself with a better understanding of mental illness giving her a unique insight to the struggles of the teenage mind. Since her time at TJH, she has helped start a suicide prevention group (Life Awareness Community Coalition) complete with a community relay race as well as implementing a teacher-student Sources of Strength program.