Will St. Louis County make it four in a row for producing Missouri’s teacher of the year?

The 17 semifinalists for 2024 Missouri teacher of the year include David Choate, English teacher at Lafayette High School in the Rockwood School District; Janet Mees Reinert, library media specialist at Kirkwood High; and Melissa Leibbrandt, special education teacher in the Special School District of St. Louis County. Leibbrandt works at Claymont Elementary in the Parkway School District.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will announce the state’s teacher of the year later in the fall. The winner will go on to the national competition.

Kirkwood School District released a statement Friday that says Reinert “endeavors to make sure that every student at KHS is represented in our library. In the library she has created a welcoming space that is full of students every hour — and before/after school. She connects with teachers and supports their work across all content areas, making sure students can connect to resources in the library that extend their learning in the classroom.”

The last three Missouri teachers of the year are English teacher Christina Andrade Melly, 2023, Ritenour School District; music teacher James Young, 2022, Ferguson-Florissant; and P.E. teacher Darrion Cockrell, 2021, Lindbergh. Shelly Parks won in 2019 from the Francis Howell School District in St. Charles County and Beth Davey won in 2018 from Ritenour.

Local semifinalists for 2024 teacher of the year also include Jeffrey Collier, who teaches band at Hardin Middle School in the St. Charles City School District; Kaylin Bade, agricultural sciences teacher in the Washington School District; and Olivia Howard, music teacher at Francis Howell Middle School.

The Missouri teacher of the year award launched in 1957 to honor the teaching profession. The winner serves as a spokesperson for the state’s 71,000 teachers and promotes the profession at various events, including the national ceremony held at the White House each year.