On November 7, Kelsie Dunham was awarded and announced as Emerson’s 2025 Teacher of the Year in a send-off style pep rally. Kelsie Dunham is in charge of teaching the brass band and she is one of the directors of the marching band. Throughout the day she teaches classes and collaborates with Brynn Roberts, the other band director. This is her tenth year teaching and she has taught at Emerson since its opening. She has helped her students grow in many ways and has made a significant impact on both her students and faculty.
“I was surprised but it was surreal and I was excited,” Dunham said. “It was shocking as well because of the amount of nominees. It’s really cool for a band director to get recognized because it can be easy for us to hide away in our part of the school. I feel like winning it shows my commitment to the whole school.”
She expressed how her decision came to be for becoming a teacher and what exactly stuck out to her about teaching.
“In high school, I enjoyed working with the younger trumpet players as a junior and senior, and I realized teaching others and helping others makes my life richer, and I just love doing it,” Dunham said.
Being in charge of an extracurricular, she spends a lot of time directing and rehearsing with the band both before, after and during school. She has built strong and impactful relationships with her students over the past couple of years.
“The dedication to daily and consistently learning about them and showing them that I care and showing them that I believe in them,” Dunham said.
Every day, Dunham is motivated to work with her band students.
“They really do make my life richer and fuller, and I appreciate how hard they work and how much time they truly spend and dedicate to our band program,” Dunham said.
Dunham has made a huge impact on not only her band kids but the rest of the school, and her constant drive and dedication to the band does not go unnoticed. Emerson is proud to announce her as the teacher of the year, and she represents everything the school stands for. Congratulations to this year’s teacher of the year, Kelsie Dunham.
