Jackson, Rotter named district Teachers of the Year

The Mountain Brook Schools Board of Education at its meeting Monday, Jan. 13, recognized the district’s representatives in Alabama’s 2020-21 Teacher of the Year competition. 

Sarah Jackson, a speech-language pathologist at Cherokee Bend Elementary, is Mountain Brook’s Elementary Teacher of the Year, while Brock Rotter, a 12th-grade government and economics teacher at Mountain Brook High School, is the Secondary Teacher of the Year. 

The two were chosen from a group of six finalists first acknowledged at the November school board meeting. 

“Both Sarah and Brock are communicators, collaborators and innovators,” said Lisa Beckham, MBS director of administrative services. “They encourage students to take risks in their learning while giving them a safe place to face challenges and find solutions, whether in growing their communication and social skills with Sarah or by grappling with real-world problems in Brock’s government and economics classes.”

Jackson is from Montgomery but earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Alabama. She has been at Cherokee Bend since 2012, working with students from preschool through sixth grade. 

“I get to lay hands and work with every single person in this building,” Jackson said, “and it is quite an honor.”

Rotter was born in Israel but moved to the United States as a toddler. A graduate of Berry High School, he earned his bachelor’s degree at Auburn University and master’s at UAB. He began his teaching career in 1998 and arrived at MBHS in 2012. 

Between those two dates, Rotter stepped away from the classroom for five years to start his own business but eventually discovered that he missed teaching. He said his success boils down to healthy relationships with students, parents, teachers and administrators. 

“I’m really honored to represent, and I think that’s the key word,” Rotter said, “because I feel like I’m a composite of all the educators that have made an impact on my life, past and present.”

According to Beckham, Jackson and Rotter will find out in April if one of them is among the state's 16 Teacher of the Year finalists. Mountain Brook Schools Superintendent Dicky Barlow didn't hesitate to voice his appreciation and encouragement. 

“It’s people like you that make this place great,” he told them.