Sedgefield Middle School teacher Karen Meadows was announced as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ teacher of the year Friday afternoon during an assembly at the school.

The news was a complete surprise to Meadows, who thought she was taking part in an end-of-the-year skit as part of a teacher talent show.

Meadows and four other eighth-grade teachers had put together the skit, which jabbed at students about their tendencies to disrupt class and how such behavior can impact learning. Meadows played the teacher; her colleagues were the disruptive students.

In the middle of their act, one of the teachers grabbed the microphone and asked, “Ms. Meadows, do you really have to put up with this all year?”

“Yes,” Meadows confirmed.

It was then that her fellow teachers announced that, because of such dedication, she had been voted CMS teacher of the year.

Stunned, Meadows shouted “Yes!” hugged her principal, Mark Robertson, and received an ovation from Sedgefield’s students and staff. The rest of the 45-minute assembly was dedicated to honoring Meadows, who teaches eighth-grade science.

Meadows was nominated by her fellow teachers for her diligence as an educator as well as for her warmth as a nurturer. Robertson called her the mother and the nurturer of the whole eighth grade.

“She will go to any lengths to make sure that those who are struggling can understand,” he said. “She is a hands-on teacher.”

Meadows said she strives to teach students as if they were her own children.

The mother of two said she has followed the academic progress of a lot of her former students. And coincidentally, she said, she taught some of her current students two years ago as sixth-graders.

Deja Reid is one of those students. She said Meadows’ classroom feels like home.

“I feel like I’m one of her kids,” she said.

Reid also said her attitude and grades have both improved since being back under Meadows’ tutelage.

Meadows holds a degree in chemistry from Johnson C. Smith University. To help give her Sedgefield students a hands-on learning experience, she secured a $3,000 grant for a hydroponics growing system inside her classroom. (Hydroponics is the technology of growing plants without soil.)

Meadows is said to excel at helping kids celebrate what they do well and identifying goals in areas where they struggle.

“They (students) always hear what they can’t do or what they don’t do well,” she said. “I want to celebrate the things they have mastered and then work with them on the things they haven’t yet mastered.”

Meadows said she was both shocked and happy to receive the award, noting the hard work and prayers of her fellow teachers.

“A lot of teachers don’t get the credit,” she said. “But teachers care.”

Speaking about the difficult times that confront CMS teachers -- 739 teachers, counselors, librarians and others have gotten pink slips and 338 others have been told they're being reassigned – Meadows said the award shows that “teachers are still teaching, even though they know they can lose their jobs.”

As CMS faces a potential $100 million budget shortfall, Meadows said she is holding out hope that teaching jobs will be saved and that adjustments will be made so that students won’t be affected.

Along with her teacher-of-the-year award, Meadows also received a $200 gift card from her Sedgefield co-workers and a promised lunch outing with Robertson at a later date.

After school let out, she was given a reception in the school’s media center.

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