From the classroom to life in general the amount of lives teachers touch is unmatched. On Saturday, April 6, 2024, Newton High School agricultural teacher Lacie Fair was recognized as a nominee at the Kansas Teacher of the Year banquet for her exceptional teaching abilities.
Although Fair did not advance as a finalist in the event, her extraordinary desire to help build the community of the future does not go unnoticed. NHS agricultural educator Katharine Honeyman believes Fair is set apart from the rest because of her willingness to make a difference beyond the classroom.
“Mrs. Fair is a good teacher because she genuinely cares about the well-being of her students whether that’s their educational well-being or personal well-being,” Honeyman said. “She genuinely cares about them as people.”
Not only do other adults see the substantial amount of work she puts in behind the scenes to ensure the success of her students, but so do other kids. Senior Jadyn Eckert said that Fair always does her best to make sure kids are always trying new things and branching out of their comfort zones. Fair also sets an outstanding example of how to work hard towards the end goal.
“She’s always there for us and honestly after how long she’s been at Newton and undergoing the change she did four years ago, I feel like she exceeded those expectations,” Eckert said.
The road to success has surely not been an easy one, considering Fair decided to change her career path a couple of years back. Before taking a leap of faith into strengthening the agriculture program here at NHS, she taught biology and a variety of different science classes.
“[Ag] was definitely a new challenge, it has had a lot more challenge than I thought it would because now instead of teaching three classes, I teach eight to nine classes a year,” Fair said. “There’s a lot more content to know but I think they both have their benefits.”
Now that Fair has had a couple of years to get the hang of things, during the spring semester of this school year, she got the opportunity to share her expertise with student intern Shelby Henley, from Kansas State University. Henley is also interested in pursuing a career as an agriculture teacher. Henley thinks that Fair is the perfect mentor for accomplishing her student teaching because of her dedication to anything and everything she does. Although the short time has almost come to an end, the memories are unforgettable.
“I think the thing that I will miss the most is the environment that she has in her classroom, it’s always super fun but she also has high expectations for her students,” Henley said.
Looking back on all the things Fair has been able to accomplish in her last 16 years at NHS is remarkable. Even though she didn’t advance as a finalist in the KTOY banquet, her impactful actions toward everyone are something that should be acknowledged.
“It’s been nice to know that other people see the hard work I put in on a daily basis,” Fair said. “But honestly there’s so many deserving teachers and there’s at least another 10 to 15 here on campus that are just as deserving as I am.”
Having a teacher who serves as a role model is an amazing feeling until senior year comes and graduation is right around the corner. Eckert says she will especially miss the way Fair would push her and continue to make her the best version of herself.
“I’m definitely just going to miss having those small conversations with her,” Eckert said. “They just brighten my day.”
