West Middle School teacher Lucinda Crenshaw speaks with members of the Kansas Legislature, Jan. 27, 2016, at the Statehouse in Topeka.

As a Kansas Teacher of the Year finalist, West Middle School teacher Lucinda Crenshaw has been speaking to members of the Kansas Legislature’s education committees, trying her hardest to make public education personal.

Crenshaw spoke with legislators last week and shared with them the impact that quality public education had on her family, which is originally from Mexico, and on her personal experience as a teacher. Crenshaw has been teaching for 31 years, with about 27 of those in Lawrence.

“(I hope) that they are reminded that we’re talking about kids and not just numbers, and not just a product,” she said.

Lucinda Crenshaw

Funding for Kansas public schools is the biggest category of spending in the state, and lawmakers are in the process of creating a new school funding formula. In addition, several significant changes, such as consolidation of the number of school districts, merit pay for teachers and spending more money on instruction, have come up since the Legislature opened its session last month.

Crenshaw teaches seventh-grade science at West, and in September was named a finalist for the 2016 Kansas Teacher of the Year. Though she was not selected as the ultimate winner, the eight Kansas finalists will be participating in 25 to 30 events, most of which are presentations, Crenshaw said.

In addition to the presentation to legislators, the group has also visited several Kansas colleges or universities to speak with students studying to be teachers. Crenshaw said the group covers various topics, with everyone speaking from their own experience.

“We really just want the pre-service teachers to see that culture in your classroom and relationships are vital, and you can do that through lots of different ways,” she said. “If you have a good relationship with your students, then they are receptive to learning. They need to know that somebody cares about them.”

Other events the finalists take part in include conferences or visits to districts around the state, which Crenshaw said help the teachers get a better understanding of public education outside of their own districts and how to positively advocate for themselves.

“Part of what we try to do is help everyone start learning a little more about what’s going on in the Legislature and advocate for our kids, and ultimately that helps our state,” she said. “Everybody is struggling with limited resources and uncertainty about future resources and having to make cuts, but they’re all working really hard, and everybody’s just trying to figure out how to work smarter, not harder.”

Next week, Crenshaw and the other finalists from the 2016 Kansas Teacher of the Year group will present to the Kansas State Board of Education.

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