2025 Teacher of the Year

Teacher of the Year Ceremony

Lawton Public Schools teachers and support staff were recognized on Friday at the annual Celebration. From left are Secondary Teacher of the Year Carlos Irizarry, Spanish World Language teacher at MacArthur Middle School; Elementary Teacher of the Year Shaelynn Jones, a Pre-Kindergarten teacher at Brockland Learning Center; First Class Teacher of the Year TJ Williams, a Kindergarten teacher at Whittier Elementary School; and Support Staff of the Year Gayle Marshall, office administrative assistant at Life Ready Center.

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First Class Teacher of Year: Mrs. TJ Williams

For me choosing to become a teacher came from hope. Hope to inspire learning, hope to overcome obstacles, hope for the future of our community. Teaching gives an opportunity to inspire and motivate students to learn, discover their strengths and overcome their challenges.

Being selected as the First Class Teacher of the Year for Lawton Public Schools, is humbling. LPS has many outstanding new teachers, who all have different talents and skills that they provide to our schools. To be recognized for mine is an honor. Receiving this award pushes me to continue to work hard and be my best every day for my students, their families, our school and our community.

Sincerely,
Mrs. TJ Williams
Kindergarten Teacher
Whittier Elementary
Lawton Public Schools
580-355-5238

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Elementary Teacher of Year: Shaelynn Jones

I have always known I wanted to be a teacher. As a child, I always forced my younger siblings to sit at desks and do homework, learning things that I was learning and copying the actions of teachers who were teaching me. Teaching is and has always been my safe place.

I teach to provide an environment for children to learn, grow, play, laugh, sing, and read and become their best selves. I surround my students with love, empathy, and compassion- modeling the actions I hope they start to mimic. I believe relationships over rigor are the key to effective teaching, and uniting families and the community within the classroom enriches education.

I never in a million years imagined myself holding a title as prestigious as Teacher of the Year. The support from the community has been overwhelmingly positive and encouraging. I have been so grateful that our district teachers' dedication to students is seen, and valued. While that means so much, the true reward is celebrating and enjoying these moments with my students, colleagues, and family.

Thank you, Nissan, for not only blessing me but blessing my family and my sweet little Bison Babies.

-Shaelynn Jones, LPS Elementary Teacher of the Year

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Secondary Teacher of the Year: Carlos Irizarry