This year Amber Rice was voted as Parkway South’s Teacher of the Year.

Rice has been teaching at South for 10 years. She is a favorite among many students at South. Rice can be found teaching World History as well as AP Psychology, and a newer class for sophomores called Histolish.

Histolish student Meredith Diefenbach had glowing reviews of Rice.

“Mrs. Rice is a phenomenal teacher. She makes history fun and really easy to understand. I think she definitely deserves Teacher of the Year!” she said.

Not only is she popular among students she’s also well known by her colleagues. English teacher Melissa Gebhard teaches the English portion of Histolish and is close with Rice.

“I’ve always admired her passion for teaching and learning. It’s an amazing experience and I’ve learned so much from her,” Gebhard said.

Sophomore Larry Reavis shared his opinions of Rice’s award.

“I wasn’t sure I wanted to take histolish, but Mrs. Rice makes it fun. She never really gets mad, when people aren’t paying attention she handles it really well,” he said.

Diefenbach agrees with Reavis.

“Mrs. Rice inspires me to learn. When I walk in to class I never fully know what to expect, but I know it will be interesting and fun. I love when we read history in the form of a play, It’s a lot better than reading chapters in a textbook,” she said.

Gebhard is glad that she gets to collaborate with Rice.

“Amber and I have always been friends. She has given me a much deeper appreciation both as a leader and as an educator. She does so much for this school and I can’t think of anyone more deserving,” she said.

AP Psychology student Arielle Lynch agrees that Rice definitely deserves the award.

“My first impressions of Mrs. Rice were that she is really nice and funny. Everyday she comes in full of energy and really makes us want to learn. We learn a lot, but when we get too serious sometimes we do yoga to de-stress, it’s a lot of fun,” Lynch said.

Rice had a few words to say regarding the honor she has been awarded.

“It is really an incredible honor, knowing that my peers and colleagues recognize all of the work that goes into programs that I was involved in such as South Talks, Histolish, and the Naturalization Ceremony. It has caused me to reflect on the art of teaching and how to improve even further,” she said.