Each year, the district honors 14 Campus Teachers of the Year, from which one elementary teacher and one secondary teacher are selected as District Teachers of the Year.
This year, Melanie Bowen from Veramendi Elementary and Kari Cooper of the New Braunfels High School Ninth Grade Center were selected as District Teachers of the Year.
Bowen has been an educator for 24 years, spending her entire career at NBISD. She is currently the Librarian at Veramendi Elementary and has been the lead NBISD librarian for the past 15 years.
“I’m so proud to work in a district that provides excellent education to all of its students,” Bowen said in a press release. “The amazing dedication of the teachers and staff I’ve been blessed to work with is truly inspiring, particularly in this challenging time.”
Cooper is a biology teacher at the NBHS Ninth Grade Center and has been an educator for 18 years. She previously worked as an instructional technology specialist for five years. She was a teacher and a coach at New Braunfels Middle School at the beginning of her teaching career.
“I am extremely happy and honored to receive this award from NBISD,” said Cooper in a press release. “We are only as good as the people we surround ourselves with, and I'm lucky to be surrounded by the best. Happy to be a unicorn!”
Honorees will advance to the regional competition, with the hopes of eventually being named one of two Texas State Teachers of the Year, according to the Texas Education Agency’s website.
