At 8:30 a.m. on March 7, a large group made their way through the halls with a specific destination in mind and flowers in hand. 

Select FHSD administrators, FHN staff and a particular FHN teacher’s family slowly filed into room 233, interrupting a second hour class. Looks of confusion passed across many students’ faces as a small child ran into the arms of his mother and three other siblings tagged along behind. 

Superintendent Nathan Hoven was the first to address why everyone was there, announcing that Kristen Johnson was the 2021-22 Francis Howell School District Teacher of the Year.

“Kristen Johnson is a thoughtful, compassionate, student centered educator,” Hoven said. “She strives to meet the needs of all of our students and ensure they are recognized for their unique gifts. Mrs. Johnson is committed to the climate and culture of Francis Howell North. This November she collected hundreds of personal thank you notes from students and delivered them to teachers. A current student shared ‘you helped me grow against the harsh world and you succeed. You care about the future of your students and plant the seeds of knowledge.’”

After winning FHN Teacher of the Year in 2021, Johnson applied for FHSD Teacher of the Year for 2022. Johnson was surprised by this announcement that she won and even shed a tear. She commended her husband who was able to successfully keep the secret from her, despite already knowing beforehand. In her speech, Johnson expressed her appreciation for all her students.

“I always felt lucky to be here,” Johnson said. “The students in front of me make it easy for me, make it easy to come to work everyday.

During spirit week, Johnson asked her students which class color she should wear and requested an argument to go with the students choice, since she was currently teaching about argumentative essays. As part of her Teacher of the Year application, Johnson used one of her students’ arguments that described why he believed she was such a great teacher. Junior Andrew Poertner submitted his essay about why he believed she should wear the color green, while giving high praise to his teacher in the process.

“I wrote a couple of things about how green represents growth and then I just talked about how she as a teacher also represents growth and helps her students grow in an environment and then just stuff like that,” Poertner said. “But, you know, I am very happy and I’m so proud of her and I’m glad that we got to go on this whole journey with her.”

After the shock and range of emotions from the announcement wore off, many students expressed their appreciation of Kristen and were very happy for her. Despite the overwhelming excitement of her students, one of the most excited people in the room for the announcement was Kristen’s husband and a former teacher at Francis Howell North, Ryan Johnson. 

“I’m excited and very proud of her,” Ryan said. “I’ve always known that she was an exceptional teacher and it’s great to see that she’s getting recognized. I think especially right now, having been through a pandemic and a lot of negative and difficult stuff, she’s the type of teacher who really focuses on positivity, relationships, happiness and kindness and I think that’s the kind of thing that should be celebrated. So I’m glad that she’s getting recognition for being such a positive force for so many kids.”