Hoosier Teacher of the Year 2000

IUSB alumna is an advocate for children and teachers

Educating children is not a job but a calling, says IUSB Distinguished Alumna Kurran Strunk.

Strunk is a South Bend Community School Corporation teacher and an alumna of IU South Bend. She was the Indiana State Teacher of the Year for 2000 and the recipient of the 2001 Distinguished Alumni Award from IU South Bend.

Today's teachers are faced with more than a schoolroom full of children everyday. Education is regarded as a top issue of federal and state elections. Reading and math scores consistently make the front page of newspapers with charts comparing schools and districts. State legislatures and educational theorists discuss testing, mainstreaming of special education students into regular classrooms, parental involvement, bilingual education, security, funding, teaching standards, and recruitment and retention of teachers.

Yet when all the rhetorical dust settles, those who stand in the front of the classroom are well aware that changes need to be made in education. However, their first concern is connecting with the children, and perhaps making a difference in one life.

After 10 short years of teaching, Strunk already has made an impression on South Bend schools by representing the state as an outstanding example of someone who cares and teaches.

Strunk received a bachelor of science degree in special education from Indiana State University in 1991 and a master of science degree in special education in 1998 from IU South Bend. She taught two years in the small Marshall County town of Argos before moving to teach first through third grade special education at Muessel, a South Bend inner-city elementary school with 475 students.

In addition to reaching children, teachers are struggling with their own issues. As the Indiana Teacher of the Year, Strunk has been speaking on a variety of issues, such as teacher recruitment, retention and revitalization.

'Nationwide, 30 percent of the teachers leave the job in the first three years and 50 percent within the first seven years. We aren't keeping good teachers. I would like to improve mentoring for new teachers and get a buddy system instituted to talk about problems in the classroom. You can't know everything in a year or two about teaching.'

Teaching is not for the faint of heart, she said.

'It takes a lot of conviction. You have to make a difference in every child. It might not be today and it may not be for years down the road, but it is worth a try. I think of it as a calling. Not a job or a career, it is a calling.'