Bossier’s Spencer Kiper Named Louisiana Teacher of the Year

Louisiana's top teacher for 2019 is Spencer Kiper of Elm Grove Middle School.

The local STEM educator was announced as the winner during the Louisiana Department of Education at the 12th annual Cecil J. Picard Educator Excellence
Awards Gala in Baton Rouge. Kiper will now go on to represent Louisiana at the 2019
National Teacher of the Year competition.

This is the first time Bossier Parish has had the overall state Teacher of the Year winner. A proud graduate of Bossier Schools, Kiper teaches middle school STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) enrichment and is heavily involved in building a stronger cyber presence in the region.

Kiper has spent four summers as a professional development specialist for the Space Academy for Educators program at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. He is also a Henry Ford Institute Innovator of the Year recipient; Civil
Air Patrol National Aerospace Educator of the Year and was most recently tapped by STEM Revolution to travel to Dubai to train teachers from United Arab Emirates about innovative STEM instructional practices.

During his acceptance speech, Kiper praised the educators that have made an impact in his life and inspired him to be the teacher he is today. He also gave special recognition to Elm Grove Middle School Principal Jennifer Armond for being an exceptional team builder who has further contributed to his success in the classroom.

Bossier Schools Superintendent Scott Smith, who attended the awards gala to cheer on Kiper, said “Over the next year, he will be a great ambassador for Bossier Parish and the Louisiana as he competes for our state at the national level. Spencer has a great chance nationally because of the excellence he brings to this profession every single minute of the day, both instructional and non-instructional.”

As the winner, Kiper gets the use of a Mercedes Benz for a year and other prizes.