With Sincerity And A Smile, Teacher Of The Year Travis LaPointe Delivers A Powerful Message (Video)

Travis LaPointe, Madison's newly annointed Teacher of Year, stood before a packed auditorium Wednesday morning and admitted he was so nervous he might pass out.

And then he said something funny, the whole crowd laughed, and he flashed a brilliant smile.

Smiling was something that came easily to LaPointe when he was young, even though he was born with a cleft lip and palate. The caring attention of a loving father, mother, and brother allowed him to withstand medical procedures and not be bothered by the fact that he looked different from others. He was a cheerful kid.

"The evil that was about to consume my life"

And then he entered 5th grade, fully unaware of "the evil that was about to consume my life."  He started to undergo a particularly complicated set of surgeries aimed at correcting his cleft lip and palate.

The procedures left him for many years with missing teeth and facial deformities that made him an easy target for bullies. First it was taunting, and then it escalated into physical abuse that left LaPointe in so much pain that he became numb.

The torment at school, and the demons that chased him in his dreams at night made LaPointe want to kill himself. But then he considered a second option, becoming a teacher and helping kids who might be frightened, or scared, or upset, or who didn't like the way they looked.

"I knew I had to get rid of my demons"

Following his senior year in college, "I finally got my smile back." But it took him a while to recover from the bullying and trauma of all those years.

"I knew I had to get rid of my demons ... I had a few close calls ... ," he said. With the help of athletics, therapy, and a job he loved passionately, he now wakes up each day with hope and "so excited about my life."

LaPointe was hired by Madison seven years ago as a teacher. Now he says that being born with a cleft lip and palate was a gift, "my favorite gift." He says it took him a while to figure that out, and now he says he's confident he knows how to use that gift.

Wednesday he was described as the "best of the best" by Brown School Principal Julie Phelps. An excerpt from her speech introducing LaPointe Wednesday follows.

Sincerety, passion, excitement that inspires students

"We nominated Travis because like all administrators in this district, we get to see the best of the best in our classrooms on a daily basis.  Travis’s work represents that “best of the best.”   Without question, Travis LaPointe is an outstanding educator.  Although he has been teaching for only seven years, Travis’s lessons reflect differentiation, authentic assessments, and a commitment to educating the whole child.  He takes time and effort in planning his units, in delivering content that will engage and motivate students to love reading and writing, and to ensure a successful experience for every child in his class.  It is this sincerity, passion, and excitement that inspire students.

In Travis’s classroom, lessons are designed so that ALL students can be successful.  Whole class introductions set the stage for student engagement and anticipation. Students support and praise each other and in so doing, model the exemplar set for them by Mr. LaPointe.  Students share a strong sense of community and a belief that if everyone doesn’t reach the goal together, then no one has been truly successful. 

As a member of his interdisciplinary team, Travis shares information and anecdotes about his students that reflect a deep understanding of not only his students’ capabilities, but their motivations.  He knows his student’s interests, likes, fears, and strengths and uses that knowledge to help plan and construct meaningful supports for every learner.  There is no student who presents a social or learning challenge that Mr. LaPointe does not aggressively and successfully work to address.  In many ways, Travis shapes his students like a coach shaping a winning team – finding and accentuating the strengths of each individual and celebrating their contributions to the whole.

Making connections

Student work features prominently when providing exemplars to students and student interests take center stage when Mr. LaPointe constructs models for any of his classes.  It is not uncommon for Mr. LaPointe to specifically mention a student’s prior work or to reference a comment a student has shared in the past when he is trying to make a connection for all students.  Classroom reading novels are selected based on what his students like and desire to know; lessons begin with music or movie segments, reading groups are arranged so that all students can be successful AND challenged, and students are encouraged to express their understandings using music, poetry, drawings, writing, and dramatizations.  In short, students can always demonstrate what they know because there is no one way to learn or grow in Mr. LaPointe’s classroom.

Travis LaPointe never seeks recognition or acknowledgement.  His joy is derived from the work in the classroom and the learning that he creates and shares with his students, and with anyone fortunate enough to see him teach.  It is my pleasure to introduce the Madison Public Schools Teacher of the Year, Mr. Travis LaPointe."