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Tampa teacher named Teacher of the Year

Macy's

Megan Allen of Cleveland Elementary School in Tampa and her class celebrates her being with a check in May.

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By RAY REYES | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 9, 2009

Updated: 07/09/2009 09:52 pm

Megan Allen felt honored when she was named Hillsborough County's Teacher of the Year in February.

On Thursday, Allen was in disbelief after she was recognized as the state's best in a ceremony at Universal Studios in Orlando.

"I'm in utter shock right now," Allen said. "It's been an unbelievable experience."

Allen, a fourth-grade teacher at Cleveland Elementary School in Tampa, was among five finalists for the Florida Department of Education/Macy's 2010 Teacher of the Year award.

Along with the award, she received $10,000, a $1,000 wardrobe, a $1,000 check for her school and an all-expense paid trip for four to New York City to attend the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Moments after she won, Allen said she was looking forward to seeing her students again.

"I absolutely love my kids," she said. "In education, it's not about our careers, it's about our kids."

A teary Allen thanked her family, friends, co-workers and students after being announced as the winner. In videos shown earlier in the evening profiling each finalist, she said she was on a different career path but decided to become a teacher after her mother died of pancreatic cancer.

"I decided to follow in my mom's footsteps," Allen said. "I get so much joy out of being a teacher. I learn so much from my students everyday."

When Allen was named Hillsborough's teacher of the year in February, she got a limousine ride to school, a four-day Bahamas trip, thousands in education scholarships and a yearlong lease of a Lexus.

The state Teacher of the Year is chosen from more than 180,000 public school teachers throughout the state by a Department of Education-appointed selection committee representing teachers, principals, parents and the business community.

The other finalists were Patricia Fairclough, of Miami-Dade County; Emily Barbacci, of Leon County; Melissa Reiker, of Orange County; and Marilynn Pedek, of Palm Beach County.

"You represent legions of teachers throughout Florida who do amazing work every day," Florida Education Commissioner Eric Smith said before an audience of several hundred. "It is so energizing to spend time with teachers. Where does your energy and dedication come from?"

Emmy Award-winning journalist Deborah Norville was master of ceremonies for the event.

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