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Blue Valley North High School teacher named 2017 Kansas Teacher of the Year

Posted at 4:23 PM, Nov 22, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-22 18:12:12-05

Jason Sickel, a vocal music instructor at Blue Valley North High School, has been named the 2017 Kansas Teacher of the Year.

Sickel’s music is bringing statewide recognition.

Students like sophomore Charlotte Meyer say his class is like a family.

"When I go to choir class, it doesn't really feel like a class that's like very stressful. It's more of like a family bonded together,” she said. “Everyone's so close and he makes it like...it's just very easy for us to all get along.”

Meyer and her classmate Grace Raley didn’t hesitate to talk about Sickel.

"He's very outgoing and is constantly pushing us to do the best that we can and like giving us positive feedback,” Meyer said.

“You can just tell he's very passionate about what he teaches and it's just so much fun,” Raley said. “And I just love him as a teacher so much.”

Sickel has been at Blue Valley North High School for four years, but he has been teaching for 13 years. He said the career is somewhat of a family business.

“Both of my parents were educators, and they are now retired,” Sickel said. “Growing up in the small town, St. Marys, Kansas, I got to see that impact that they had on the community and it just sort of, it was just a natural progression for me.”

He said he was shocked after hearing that he was named the 2017 Kansas Teacher of the Year.

“You know I've told so many people, there are so many outstanding educators, not only in my family but just in this hallway here that are here in Blue Valley North, in our building,” Sickel said. “In many ways I don't think it's 'winning' sort of speak for being the best of the best. I think of it as just having a platform now where I get an opportunity to represent excellence and education and for me, that might be the most exciting part of it, that I get to be an ambassador for what we do here at Blue Valley North, here in the school district and here in the state. That's a pretty cool thing.”

Both Meyer and Raley said it’s an award that is well deserved.

“I'm not surprised,” Meyer said. “Mr. Sickel's an amazing teacher."

“If I got to choose the award, if I was the judge, I would definitely pick him,” Raley said.

Sickel said this is a very humbling experience.

“I am so honored to have an opportunity to speak with college students, pre-service teachers, student teachers out there and talk with them about their beginnings of their careers and education,” he said.

He said he wants his students to know that music can take them anywhere.

"What we do here, it's a lifelong skill and they can take that with them for the rest of their lives,” Sickel said. “No one can take away that musical training from you as a student."

Sickel will now represent Kansas as a candidate for National Teacher of the Year.

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Rae Daniel can be reached at Rae.Daniel@KSHB.com.

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