RICHMOND, Ind. — For the first time since 2018, a teacher from Richmond Community Schools has been selected as an individual top 10 finalist for Indiana Teacher of the Year.
Shelly Swain, a K-4 interventionist at Starr Elementary School, was named a finalist for the 2025 award by the Indiana Department of Education in a news release.
The award, which has been given since at least 1997, aims to "recognize outstanding teachers from across the state."
The next phase of the selection process are interviews with the state selection committee that began on Monday. From there, three finalists will undergo surprise classroom visits by committee members, who will then select the 2025 Teacher of the Year.
So why did Swain decide to become a teacher and what is her advice to those wishing to become one? Here is what Swain has to say.
What made you interested in becoming a teacher?
Swain said that her journey to becoming a teacher is a long story and that she "started late, but started early."
When Swain was 12 years old, there was a deaf woman at a library she visited and learned that nobody could communicate with her, so she grabbed an encyclopedia off a shelf and communicated with her through the alphabet.
From there, Swain wanted to learn as much as she could about sign language through the library and worked towards getting her school principal to sign. She eventually went into the Deaf community as an interpreter and tried to enter the Deaf Education program at Ball State University, but she was not accepted and instead entered the field of business.
It all eventually worked out for Swain, as she earned her general education degree from Indiana University East before taking an accelerated licensure program to get her special education license and earning her Master's in special education with an autism concentration at Ball State.
What brought her back into education was a chance encounter with the interpreter of one of her son's schoolmates.
"This little girl's interpreter had to use the restroom and it was her time to take pictures, so I signed to her," Swain said. "The interpreter saw me and said there was a position at Richmond Community Schools for me to interpret for six weeks, which I did, and then I decided at that point to go back into education."
What do you think is the key to being a great teacher?
For Minogue, the practice of teacher is an art, one that requires a lot of innovation and creativity. But one of her biggest secrets to success, she said, is not being afraid to make a mistake.
"I think you have to love learning, and love kids, obviously, but I think when kids are with you for six hours a day at the elementary level, you are such a model for what the future holds," Minogue said. "You need to be able to get down on their level and learn with them, but most importantly have fun while you're doing it."
Did you have a teacher who inspired you?
Swain did not take long to think about a teacher who inspired her to become who she is today.
"Mr. Beaty, my sixth grade teacher," she said. "He inspired me by really helping me become a critical thinker. He made his kids rise to higher expectations, and we owned our education, but on top of that, he made learning so much fun that I aspired to be him. He was my role model to look at what I wanted to be as a teacher."
What is the key to being a successful student?
For Swain, the success of a student falls on the positive impact that a teacher has on them in their lives, something she holds herself in high regard of doing.
She said that it's important in her role to "see the whole child and student" and to keep the belief that every child can learn and become empowered in that they can eventually become productive members of their communities.
"To become problem solvers and be curious and open-minded and accept diversity, that's what I try to do in my learning experiences," she said. "That's what I aspire and challenge my students to do, and they challenge me equally."
Swain added that she is equally as impacted by her students as they are by her, resulting in her aspiring to provide the best instruction as possible to them to ensure a positive student-teacher relationship.
"I guess some kids found out there and when I got to school, they said, 'Mrs. Swain, Mrs. Swain, congratulations!' and I told them 'I couldn't have done this without you, because you make me a teacher. If you don't come to school, I can't be a teacher,' so they were going through the school saying they made Mrs. Swain a teacher. It's that mutual respect with each other and seeing that whole child."
What advice would you give to those interested in becoming teachers?
"Go! It's a wonderful profession," Swain said for students thinking about becoming a teacher. "It is so fulfilling. Yes, it's hard work and yes, we endure. Every teacher that I've ever known, regardless of their role, aspires to help their students grow, and they will do the same."
Swain made an offer to help anybody wishing to enter the field, adding that she is an adjunct professor at Indiana University East where she teaches pre-service teachers.
"Come to my classroom and student teach, do field experience," she said. "It is so empowering to know that you have the privilege to cross that student's path and their educational journey. It's a privilege and an honor. Their families and their parents, guardians or whoever, they give us their greatest gift every day, and I would help them."
Evan Weaver is a news and sports reporter at The Palladium-Item. Contact him on X (@evan_weaver7) or email ateweaver@gannett.com.Lafayette Journal & Courier's Jillian Ellison contributed to this story.
