Kelly Hart, left, an English language arts teacher at South Middle School, was named the Lawrence school district's 2013-2014 Secondary Teacher of the Year. The award comes with a ,000 prize, which was presented Tuesday by Ginger Wehner, right, vice president of Truity Credit Union.

Kelly Hart, an English language arts teacher at South Middle School, has been named the Lawrence school district’s 2013-2014 Secondary Teacher of the Year.

The award was presented early Tuesday morning during a faculty meeting at the school.

“No way,” Hart said when asked if she was expecting the award. “Everybody tricked me. I usually can’t get to faculty meetings because I have to drop my kid off at daycare and they’re not open that early.”

The award comes with a $1,000 prize, which was presented by Truity Credit Union, a Lawrence Education Achievement Partner.

Alexandra Hilliard, one of Hart’s former students and a 2013 graduate of Lawrence High School, shared fond memories of being in Hart’s class.

“When you walk into her classroom, you almost feel like you aren’t in school,” Hilliard said. “There was never a dull moment in class, even when we were studying boring things.”

“She has an excellent rapport with her students,” South Principal Will Fernandez said. “She shows a sincere interest in them as individuals, is consistently fair and is constantly searching for ways to make her teaching more interesting and informative.”

Hart, who is also an alumna of South Middle School, earned her bachelor’s degree at Kansas University and taught one year in Holton before joining the Lawrence district in 2006. She is now in her eighth year teaching at South Middle School.

Each year, the Lawrence district selects an elementary and secondary teacher of the year for local recognition. Those individuals are also nominated for the Kansas Teacher of the Year program sponsored by the Kansas State Department of Education.

The Lawrence Elementary Teacher of the Year will be announced Thursday.