By Matt Gleckman

There are more than 38,000 certified teachers working in schools throughout the state of Colorado, very few of whom are chosen to be semi-finalists for the Colorado Teacher of the Year Award -- pretty stiff competition.

This year however, Nancy Dickerson Shaw of Kemper Elementary beat the odds.

After being nominated by a fellow local educator, receiving letters of support from parents and the school’s principal, Howard Culp, completing the 15-page application process and sitting through a half-hour intensive interview, Shaw was selected as a semi-finalist for what has been described as "the state’s oldest and most prestigious education award."

"Nancy does an excellent job both in and out of the classroom," said Culp, "She is the organizer of the Kemper Ski Club and has been involved with the building level steering committee. These things go above and beyond the normal call of her job."

Shaw stated that during the application and interview process, a panel of 10 judges asked questions about her teaching philosophy, the rewards of teaching and major education topics such as violence in schools. "They wanted to know what my feelings were on these subjects and what I would do to improve certain situations."

Shaw, originally from West Morland, Calif., has been passing along her experiences and expertise to students for over 20 years now. Luckily for Cortezans, the last 10 of those years have been dedicated to local Kemper first-graders.

After receiving her master’s degree from the University of Southern California, Shaw began teaching a number of different grades (up to sixth) in Imperial Beach, Calif.

Following her 10-year stint in California, she made the move to Colorado, where she has focused on developing students’ basic skills.

"I love kids and have always known that I wanted to be a teacher," said Shaw, who got an early start by teaching projects as a Diamond Star for the 4-H organization. "I enjoy teaching the first grade because the students are right at the age where they are beginning to develop their reading, writing and math skills," she said.

As a semi-finalist Shaw will travel to the Denver Museum of Natural History where she will be honored at a dinner banquet along with six other semi-finalists.

At that same dinner the Colorado Teacher of the Year will be selected from a group of four finalists. The finalists include Craig Cogswell of Westminster High School, Ray Hawthorne of Arapahoe High School, Kerry Kerrigan of Soda Creek Elementary and Ruth Maenpaa of Skyview High School.

Finalists were visited in their classrooms where they were judged on their ability to inspire students to greater achievement, their active role in the community and the admiration bestowed onto them by students, faculty and colleagues.

The winner of the 2000 Colorado Teacher of the Year will become Colorado’s nominee for the National Teacher of the Year honors as well as serve as a teacher ambassador to communities and organizations around the state and nation.

"I was very, very excited to be the only teacher from our little corner of Colorado selected as a semi-finalist," said Shaw, "It is a great honor to be praised for doing something you love."