2022 Kansas Master Teacher Gina Johnson

Now, when Johnson mentors pre-service teachers, she advises them that “students won’t show you what they know, until they know that you care.”

Just as she has her fourth and fifth grade students determine motivation of characters when working on reading and writing, Johnson is working to understand the motivation of her students.

“There is nothing that will keep an educator awake at night more than knowing a student has a need that is not currently being met in your classroom,” Johnson says.

Given that, Johnson sees results when she works to understand a student who was a “button pusher,” and when she spends time to get a mid-year transfer student to answer questions with more than one word.

“Her nurturing, inventive and supportive manner of blending learning with emotional intelligence was exactly the environment our son needed,” a parent states.

Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in 2000 from Fort Hays State University. She began her teaching career in 2001 in Louisiana, moved to El Dorado and was an instructional coach there for seven years before moving to Hays where she has taught since 2010.

Connections became even more important when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. “As teachers attempted to respond to the sudden expectation of remote teaching, she was willing and available to fine-tune their technology skills and open their eyes to the possibilities of online learning. Her positive, confident, and courageous mentality brought ease to many nervous individuals,” writes an administrator. Johnson designed an online resource for families to use during remote instruction that continues to be used to supplement in-school instruction.

Johnson states, “I use every minute I can to observe, visit and listen to students in order to know them better. I use what I learn to make students feel safe and seen, to help me plan better instruction, and to make changes to my teaching methods to better suit student needs.”