KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – Allison Sanders never hesitated when asked about the significance of being selected as the Rookie Teacher of the Year during the Apple Awards presented by the Clay Education Foundation.

“My sixth graders are great,” she said.

She teaches math and science to students from third through sixth grade.

That affinity is why principal Elizabeth Turbeville nominated her.

“She has very strong relationships with students, and she has helped each of them make tremendous progress,” Turbeville said. “Her data is outstanding. She’s just an all-around amazing teacher and individual.”

Sanders was honored with the Teacher and School-Related Employee of the Year during the Apple Award ceremonies on Feb. 8 at the Thrasher-Horne Center. This is the first time the foundation has offered the rookie category.

She was picked ahead of two other finalists before the awards.

Sanders is a self-contained teacher for students with emotional behavioral disorders. She has a demonstrative style to capture her students’ attention and keep them engaged.

“Even though the numbers (of students) are low, it takes a good bit to make them want to be there and pull something from it,” Sanders said.

“I nominated her and felt very compelled to do so,” Turbeville said. “Every principal in the district had the opportunity to nominate someone they felt strongly about a strong first- or second-year teacher. I feel like she is among the best at our school, even our veteran teachers.”

She started at Keystone Heights in 2019 as a paralegal. She then became a behavioral health assistant while earning her bachelor’s degree. She became a teacher 14 months ago.

Turbeville said teachers in their first or second years were eligible for the award.

School and district staff approached Sanders and assistant Pam Saxon at the same time to say they were finalists. Saxon was one of five in the school-related category.

“I feel very honored and humbled that my principal chose me to nominate out of the other people at the school who would have been in that category as well,” Sanders said.  

“Becoming a teacher and coming full circle has been pretty amazing. I had a lot of a lot of determination. There was definitely a lot of sticking to it, that’s for sure.”