Forty-year career teacher Diane Grellner was selected by her peers as Kingfisher Public School’s teacher of the year.

The third grade teacher at Kingfisher Heritage School was recognized Monday night at the monthly school board meeting, along with her fellow teachers of the year named at each school campus: Sheila Redwine, Gilmour Elementary School reading specialist; Susan Campbell, seventh grade reading teacher at Kingfisher Middle School, and Ken Thompson, KHS English teacher.

Diane Grellner

Grellner previously taught fifth grade at Piedmont Public School before joining the Kingfisher faculty 16 years ago.

“I teach with an amazing team of third grade teachers who inspire me each and every day to be better at what I do,” she said.

“In addition to my team, I’m very blessed to work with such dedicated teachers, staff and administrators at Heritage and throughout the district”

She and her husband John have been married 41 years and have three children and six grandchildren.

Their daughter Kristen is married to Adam Perkey and they have one daughter, Addyson, 2; daughter Lesley is married to Drew Redwine and they have three daughters, Camryn, 6; Annie Kate, 4, and Lyla, 11 months old; son John Jr. is married to Ginny and they have a daughter, Effie, 2, and a son Joseph, 4 months.

“To teach for 40 years seems like a long time, but I have loved each and every moment of it,” she said.

“It has gone by quickly because I have enjoyed it so much.

“I love helping my students become the best they can be.

“Every day is a challenge but every day is a blessing too.”

Grellner is now eligible to compete for the state Teacher of the Year Award, a rigorous application and interview process.

Sheila Redwine

Sheila Redwine has been a teacher for 28 years in Kingfisher, teaching seventh and eighth grade reading, American history, English and science.

This year, she is working at Gilmour to provide reading intervention for students who are reading at below grade level.

She and her husband Mark have two sons, two daughters-inlaw, and five granddaughters.

She and Mark are both products of Kingfisher Public Schools, along with their sons, and Redwine says she considers it a privilege to not only teach in the same district, but to watch her granddaughters thrive in Kingfisher schools also.

Susan Campbell

Susan Campbell earned her education degree at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford.

From 1998-2002, she taught second and fourth grades at Hawthorne Elementary School, and from 2003-07, she taught the same grades at Mustang Creek Elementary School.

Campbell has served as KMS reading teacher for 13 years.

She and her husband Keith, KMS principal, have two children, Michayla and Colby.

Ken Thompson

Ken Thompson is a first-year teacher at Kingfisher High School, but he’s worked nearly a decade at the college level, teaching English and writing and mentoring students.

Raised in Wyoming, Thompson earned an associate’s degree from Western Wyoming Community College and then went on to earn both a bachelor of arts and master of arts degree in English from the University of Wyoming.

His teaching philosophy focuses heavily on creating opportunities for student success, connecting course material to subjects and concepts beyond English, and sharing his love of literature with others.

He also is a cosponsor for the KHS National Honor Society.