As the phone rings, eighth grade English teacher Andrea Noonan thinks of the interviews that she had in August as one of the finalists for North Dakota Teacher of the Year. When she picks up the phone, she receives the news that she has won the annual award given to a K-12 teacher statewide.
“It didn’t really sink in. But as the morning wore on I became more and more excited,” Noonan said. “I called my parents first and when my mom cried while she was on the phone with me, I really understood how big of a deal it was.”
Noonan comes from an education family. Her grandfather, James Noonan, was a principal and superintendent.
“We would have fantastic conversations about education at the lake. We would talk about current events in education, how my teaching was going, how I was doing in classes, what I was writing about, what I was reading. He was always asking and sharing what he knew.” Noonan said.
Noonan has had an effect on her students, as well as her fellow teachers.
“Miss Noonan is a very positive, motivated, and self-driven teacher always looking for ways to improve her teaching strategies and generously sharing them with our team,” eighth grade math teacher Donita Lennon said. “Her positive attitude and enthusiasm for teaching is infectious. I have completed 21 years in the teaching profession and having Miss Noonan as a colleague continuously renews my enthusiasm for teaching and also gives me the motivation to strive to be a better teacher,” Lennon said “Miss Noonan is not only a huge asset to our district but to the entire teaching profession.”
Senator John Hoeven paid a visit to Noonan’s class on October 9th to congratulate her and talk with her students. Hoeven fielded a variety of questions from the students, before he asked them “Who is the best teacher in North Dakota?”, to which the students replied “ Miss Noonan”.
From here Noonan will turn in her application for National Teacher of the Year. She will meet the other candidates in January. Noonan is also working to improve the teaching ability of other teachers. She is working with the Liberty Middle School principal Denise Jonas in professional development opportunities in critical reading strategies. Noonan also says that she will keep working to improve her teaching.
“As a professional one of the things I do is continuously reflect on how everything is going,” Noonan said. “That way I can make modifications to instruction, assessments, and delivery as necessary in order to help students.”