Vincennes Teacher Receives Indiana Rural Teacher of the Year Award

Photo credit: Indiana Farm Bureau

Leigh Anne Eck, a sixth-grade teacher from George Rogers Clark Middle School in Vincennes, received the 2022-23 Indiana Rural Teacher of the Year Award presented by the Indiana Small and Rural Schools Association and Indiana Farm Bureau.

The Indiana Rural Teacher of the Year Award is given to a current teacher who collaborates with the rural community to provide lifelong learning opportunities, leads in the educational community and leaves a lasting impact on their students.

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Eck, who was nominated by her building principal and fellow teachers, started teaching later in life after being a stay-at-home mom and helping in her children’s classrooms.

“Teaching was never something I set out to do, but it became something I truly love,” Eck says. “I started helping in the first-grade classroom where kids came in as 5-year-olds and left as readers. For me, that was magic, and I wanted to be part of that magic.

So, I decided to go back to school to become a teacher.”

Photo credit: Indiana Farm Bureau

Now, 15 years into her profession in education, she is teaching middle school English language arts and reading, where her passion truly lies.

“This is where I was meant to be,” she says. “I always enjoyed reading and writing. When I had the opportunity to share that passion, I knew that’s what I wanted to do and where I wanted to be.”

INFB is a proud sponsor of the Indiana Rural Teacher of the Year Award and provides a $1,000 prize to the recipient.
Gesturing to her crowded bookshelves, Eck says, “As you can see from behind me, literacy is my passion, books are my passion. So, I will probably be adding some new titles to my classroom library with my prize money.”

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