Tippecanoe Valley High School English teacher Kris Walker, center, is shown in this 2019 InkFreeNews file photo as being honored as Tippecanoe Valley School Corp.’s Teacher of the Year. Walker is now receiving a $1,000 professional development grant due to recognition by his former student Valeria Jimenez.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

AKRON — Tippecanoe Valley High School English teacher Kris Walker is receiving a grant after being recognized for his work by a former student.

The Tippecanoe Valley School Board heard that news from TVSC Superintendent Blaine Conley at its public work session on Thursday, Feb. 17, at TVHS.

Valley alumna Valeria Jimenez, now a Manchester University sophomore, recently received a Lilly Endowment Inc. Realizing the Dream scholarship for her academic efforts and being a first-generation college student. As part of that scholarship, she honored a former educator of hers who inspired her.

She opted to pick Walker, who gets a $1,000 professional development grant as part of the recognition.

Conley also played a video for the board in which Jimenez explained why she choose Walker as her honored teacher.

“He taught a class called PEERS at my high school,” she said in it. “In that class, we would go to the middle school and the elementary schools in our school corporation and we would mentor kids there and when we weren’t doing that we would have discussions in class essentially on how to be better people.”

“His encouragement really helped me pursue my college goals,” she continued in it. “My senior year, I was really debating going into child psychology and when we would have discussions in class, he would tell me time and time again: ‘You’re going to be an awesome psychologist.’ And hearing that from somebody that I looked up to so much really gave me the green light that yes, this is what I am supposed to do with my life.”

The recognition will be mentioned again at Valley’s regular board meeting on Monday, Feb. 21, at Tippecanoe Valley Middle School.

TVSC Board President Tom Bauters mentioned that Walker was previously a Teacher of the Year for the corporation and one of the top finalists for the Indiana Teacher of the Year award.

In other business, the board:

• Heard that Fanning Howey Project Manager Michael Schipp will provide an update on planning for the corporation’s upcoming TVHS renovation project at the board’s regular meeting Monday. Fanning Howey is the architecture firm handling the project. The board’s meeting Monday starts at 6 p.m.