Plano ISD: Lindsey Petropoulos, Rice Middle School, TSCA Middle School 2020 Outstanding Educator Of The Year

From Plano Independent School District:

November 4, 2020

Lindsey Petropoulos, Rice Middle School speech and debate teacher and electives team lead, has been named the Texas Speech Communication Association (TSCA) 2020 Middle School Educator of the Year.

Lindsey has been teaching at Rice Middle School since 2007 where she is the debate coach, theatre director, AVID site team and electives team leader. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Texas Christian University. According to Rice Middle School Principal Chris Glasscock, Lindsey is a natural leader at Rice and in the district. "Throughout the years at Rice, Lindsey has been recognized for her excellence in teaching. She was the Rice Middle School Teacher of the Year for the 2011-2012 school year, received the PTA Lifetime Membership Award, and was a finalist for the National Merit Inspirational Teacher in 2017. She also served as the TSCA middle school chair last year. She is a part of the leadership team at Rice as the electives team leader and takes on roles to help assist teachers and staff whenever she is able. Lindsey also seeks out ways to grow professionally through professional development, workshops and book studies. She is an asset to the school and the community."

In her classroom, Lindsey works to create a safe place where mistakes can be made and in fact are made every day. In her philosophy of teaching she shares, "The idea of performing in front of others is obviously terrifying for most of my students, so we spend time at the beginning of the year establishing the classroom as a safe space for students to feel comfortable enough to take those risks necessary for learning. The process of learning isn’t finished with making those mistakes. We take a long, hard look at those mistakes and have honest discussions about what we can do next time to improve and adapt. Failure is never the end of the story."

"Mrs. Petropoulos creates a positive learning environment in her classroom. She is a forward-thinker who is not afraid to try new approaches to maximize the learning opportunities for her students. She wants all of her students to be successful, but more importantly, to gain a true appreciation and understanding of the subject," said Principal Glasscock. A former student looking back on his time in her classroom says that Mrs. Petropoulos gives students the one-on-one attention they deserve and gives feedback that encourages rather than discourages students.
Rice students appreciate the time and commitment she puts forth on their behalf, coming in early for practices and coaching one of the largest middle school programs in the district. She has inspired her students to excellence in high school and senior high debate programs. "Her class was the spark that inspired me to dive into speech and debate," said a former student now a graduate of Plano West.

Tom McCaffrey, Jasper High School director of speech and debate, described her teaching in his recommendation, "Ms. Petropoulos is the catalyst, the spark that ignites, so many kids’ interest in learning these events, finding the evidence they’ll need, developing their presentation skills, and collaborating to build a strong team. She also harnesses their natural competitive instincts to drive continuous growth, and helps them keep it in balance with an awareness of kindness and professionalism that demonstrates maturity beyond most others their age." Robert Shepard, director of forensics at Plano Senior High School, said in his recommendation that, "She has a 'spirit' and a drive and an ability to make the impossible, possible."

Speech and Theatre Coordinator Gregory Arp states that "Lindsey goes well beyond her duties to assure that her students have the opportunity and the training to learn the art of debate and to compete at a very high level. She challenges her students to perform well beyond their years and inspires them to continue in debate well beyond middle school. Each year I attend the Plano West Senior High School speech banquet, and each year the students who left her program years prior, profess their appreciation for their middle school speech & debate teacher, Mrs. Petropoulos, and her inspiration to study debate."

In her recommendation letter a former student said that Mrs. Petropoulos, "is the type of teacher that students can always rely on for any type of support...The lessons and influences that an impactful teacher imparts on their students transcends the classroom or even the time they have with you. I truly can’t think of a better teacher that encapsulates such a notion than Ms. Petropoulos."

This press release was produced by Plano Independent School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.