Liberty educator is Missouri Teacher of the Year
By JASON NOBLE The Kansas City Star

South Valley Junior High School Eighth-grade teacher Eric Langhorst (right) received congratulations from Liberty assistant superintendent Steve Fleming during an assembly Thursday morning.

For the second year in a row, a Northland educator is the Missouri Teacher of the Year.

Eric Langhorst, an eighth-grade social studies teacher at Liberty’s South Valley Junior High School, celebrated the honor with a pep rally at his school this morning.

Langhorst was one of six finalists after he was named the Liberty School District teacher of the year. Another metro-area teacher, chemistry teacher Kristin L. Jackson of Harrisonville High School, also made the finals.

Langhorst is known for incorporating technology — including podcasts and his Web site, speakingofhistory.blogspot.com — into his teaching.

“He’s an innovator in the use of technology and helping kids understand the concepts of American history and make connections at deeper levels,” South Valley Principal Brad Armstrong said after Langhorst was named the district’s top teacher in the spring.

He stands out to his students, too.

Anna McKee, one of Langhorst’s former eighth-grade history students, wrote a letter nominating him for the district honor.

“Students enjoyed coming to his class because he could relate history to us,” Anna wrote. “He knows so much about history and was just bursting at the seams with excitement about getting to teach it.”

Darryl Johnson, a Smithville High School communication arts teacher, brought home the state honor last year.

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