On April 1, English teacher Alex Colson got a knock on her door in the middle of class. 

A student opened the door to reveal a group of people led by Colson’s daughter, with her husband, her parents and Chapman’s administration not far behind. 

Chapman Principal Andrew McMillan, armed with a bouquet of flowers, proudly told Colson that she was Chapman High Schools 2022-23 Teacher of the Year. 

“I had a lot of emotions go through my head,” Colson said. “The first one being shock followed by some disbelief.”

Teacher of the Year is voted on by Chapman’s faculty and staff, making it an especially meaningful award. 

“The fact that my coworkers thought I would be a good representation of everything teacher of the year stands for, I’m just honored,” said Colson. 

English teacher Holly Hollifield was one of the teachers who voted for Colson. 

“Colson is a leader in the English department in the way that she interacts with teachers and students,” said Hollifield. “She is also super good with students, and she really gets to know them on a personal level, which earns their trust and respect.”

Assistant Principal Amy Driggers agrees.

“She does everything that is possible to make sure that every student in her classroom despite their needs or their wants or difficulties gets what they need, and every kid in there knows they are loved, valued and cared for,” she said.

Although Colson’s students couldn’t vote for the award, they agreed that she is deserving.

“She gets personal with her students,” sophomore Colton Harrell said. “She is not here to just collect a paycheck. She is here to get to know her students and grow you as a person.”

“She is a great teacher, and she always helps her students when they need it,” said sophomore Layden McCravy. 

Colson is grateful for the award but stressed that she wants to share the award with others: 

“I feel like it’s such a ‘we’ thing here, not really a ‘me’ thing, and there are just so many people here who pour into me and my classroom.”