High school teacher wins award for career and technical education

Spencer Bailey/Herald Leader Award winner Jenny Marroquin stands next to CTE Coordinator Luke Shoemaker.
Spencer Bailey/Herald Leader Award winner Jenny Marroquin stands next to CTE Coordinator Luke Shoemaker.

During the May school board meeting, the teachers of the year for 2022-2023 were announced. While the school board took the time to recognize those teachers, there was also another special recognition at hand at the meeting.

Luke Shoemaker, Career and Technical Education Coordinator at the high school, announced that high school family and consumer sciences teacher Jenny Marroquin had received a regional teacher of the year award. "This is a very special award for Jenny Marroquin."

He continued, saying "Last year, the Arkansas Association for Career and Technical Education voted her the State New Teacher of the Year. Because of that, they submitted her application to the Region Four board. That's the largest region for ACTE, with 10,000 CTE educators in that region.

"Usually at that thing, Oklahoma always wins the award," Shoemaker quipped, "but not this year. Jenny Marroquin was voted new teacher of the year for the region, which will then allow her to go on and possibly become the national teacher of the year for CTE."

Shoemaker specifically noted how she was a Siloam Springs graduate. "She is an excellent teacher and I'm proud to say that she is a Siloam Springs graduate that went to the University of Arkansas and came back home because she believed in the maroon and gray. Last two years we have taken it on the chin in this profession, but she is motivating students to step out and give back and hopefully return to our community, and I'm so proud of her for that."

Marroquin recently received her Master's degree in education leadership. In addition to her teaching, she also serves as an FCCLA advisor, the sponsor for the junior executive bank board and she's the lead teacher for the pre-education pathway at the high school, which is preparing students to get into the field of teaching.

Marroquin tearfully accepted the award and thanked her family, as well as the school district. "I became a teacher because of the great CTE teachers I had in high school, here in Siloam Springs." Shoemaker chimed in, saying "I'm proud that a panther got this award."