UNION COUNTY, N.C. — As another school year ends in Union County, the public school district’s teacher of the year said she’s reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic, its impact on teaching and why she’s honored to have the district’s top teaching prize.

Cheryl Konopka, a fifth-grade teacher at Rocky River Elementary School in Union County, has been named teacher of the year. Konopka first won at the school level, then among 10 county-wide finalists for the district’s top honor. 

“I still cannot believe that they called my name at that awards ceremony!” Konopka said while taking a break from cleaning out her classroom this week.

Now in her 15th year of educating, Konopka said winning was awesome, but was and is never the top goal for a teacher.

“I used to sit, during COVID, at my kitchen table with just everything strewn around me. And for 15 hours a day, just taking phone calls and answering questions, and getting kids and parents to get through and just try to keep them reading. Doing a little bit of math and science. So, for my peers and UCPS to see that and to see how we have come out the other end, it’s such an honor. Because it’s what I was meant to do in life,” Konopka said.

Her life in education got a late start. After moving to the county in the early 2000s, Konopka first started working at Union County Public Schools as a teacher assistant at Rocky River.

“When I came back here, I was an assistant. I went home the next day and said, ‘I want to do more, I want to do more,” Konopka said.

She put her time and effort where her passion was, returning to school at Wingate University to get her teaching degree, and 2008 was her first official year at Rocky River as an elementary school teacher. Since then, Konopka has tackled kindergarten, first, third, and now fifth grade lesson plans.

There’s always something new, no matter how long you’ve been teaching.“We are always training, all summer long. We always have professional development we want to seek out and do better at. There’s always something new, no matter how long you’ve been teaching. Something new and exciting comes along, and you want to learn it because you want to bring it to your kids,” Konopka said.

This summer, Konopka and her fellow fifth-grade teachers will prepare to return to a classroom style they have not used since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

“We’re very excited because we’re going to departmentalize again. So, we’re going to each take a subject or two that we will be focusing on, which will be great for the kids because it does get them ready for middle school and prepares them for those classroom changes,” Konopka said.

Along with schoolwork, Konopka will have a busy schedule as the 2022 UCPS teacher of the year. 

Known for her hands-on attitude and approach to lessons, she won the award for her dedication to her students and creating a family environment in the classroom, UCPS said.

This year alone, Konopka said she attended roughly a dozen of her students’ extracurricular events.

“So, it started just as one or two sporting events, and then other kids heard about it, so they’re like, ‘Oh will you come to mine?’ I’m like, sure! So, I’ll go to baseball games, I’ve been to dance recitals, I’ve been to theater productions,” Konopka said. 

“If I’m going to make this a classroom environment and them understand that I am there for them 24-7,” Konopka added, “I need to be there for them 24-7 as well.”

This year, Konopka was also able to immerse her students fully into the classroom experience, something she said was impossible the years prior with the COVID-19 pandemic.

My kids have been crime scene investigators, we have done debates in a boxing ring, they’ve attended a poetry cafe.“My absolute favorite thing in the world to do are room transformations. My kids have been crime scene investigators, we have done debates in a boxing ring, they’ve attended a poetry cafe. We’ve used Michael Jordan’s determination and perseverance to become theme experts,” Konopka said.

After the last few years of dealing with COVID-19 restrictions, hybrid virtual and in-person classes and constant changes, Konopka said the best reward is watching her students succeed.

“To see somebody come into your room and notice the impact that you are making in a classroom just rejuvenates you and gives you so much more excitement and makes you want to do even better. So, there are a lot of people in UCPS that are worthy of this award,” Konopka said.

As part of her award, she received Publix and Target gift cards, $1,000 and a one-year lease on a new car.

Now, she will head to the regional competition for the state’s teacher of the year nomination.

In the meantime, Konopka, who said she’s usually ready for school to return by mid-July, is already focused on next school year. She said she hopes to teach science in the planned rotating schedule and cannot wait to welcome another group of fifth-graders.

“The Konopka crew is everything, it’s just who I am, it’s who we are. They know that they’re not just in a classroom, they’re in a family. To be appreciated for that means the absolute world to me,” Konopka said.