Cass High School’s Teacher of the Year, Katherine Shofner is an extraordinary teacher and is highly involved around the school. Shofner is the main sponsor of BETA, the head of the French Honors Society, helps in setting up prom, organizing clubs, and participating with Magnet and other programs. Being involved in so many organizations is impressive as a teacher, and shows her worthiness of the Teacher of the Year award. She has been teaching since 1988 and continues to grow as a teacher as the years go along. The award was given to Shofner for her dedication to loving blue and living gold.
On top of being involved in many clubs and organizations, Shofner has many goals and excels in them. One of her goals is to establish a good French program. “When I came here and did my interview with Mr. Revard, I wanted to double the numbers with the French Program. Now, I do have good numbers and I’m happy about that.” Shofner went above and beyond when creating a successful French program. Not only did she increase the number of students in the program, she also felt like she had students of high quality.
One goal that she is currently working towards is to help set up an exchange program in France. “We’ve taken them to France and traveled but that’s about it.” Shofner believes that an exchange program would create learning opportunities for her French students. She also wants to expand the French program outside of Cass. “But the problem is that COVID happened, it nailed us to the ground, and we couldn’t get anywhere.” COVID was a big problem in school systems, and it hindered the ability to create the French exchange program.
Being the head of Cass’ BETA club, Shofner plays a crucial role in leading the club. She stepped up for this position this year. Her reasoning for this is, “I was a BETA in high school. When Mrs. White sent out the bat signal, I wanted to step up. First, I knew that it was a strong club. When you come from strong sponsors, you know you must put in your A game.” Shofner made it apparent that she likes putting all her effort into BETA. She loves making her students feel like they have a good head representation. She wants to continue that legacy at Cass. “I didn’t want Mrs. White to just hand over all the work she did, so I wanted to show her that I was going to take it seriously.” Shofner puts passion into everything she does, and this is evident with her new found success in BETA club.
One thing Shofner wants for her students is to make school enjoyable. “Nobody else came forward. I wanted that enthusiasm that I felt as a kid to transpose it for you guys. I want you to go to Beta-con, and geek out with other smart kids and have fun and be you.” A strong club has a strong community to work with, and Shofner has incredibly let that shine through BETA.
As mentioned before, this is Shofner’s first year being the head of the BETA club. Kayle White is a teacher at Cass and was the head BETA sponsor before. She felt confident in Shofner because, “ Shofner was also in BETA in high school, so she already knew the process and what BETA stood for. She also had exciting ideas that she could bring to the club.” White was happy to give the position over to Shofner and was comfortable with her choice, and sees growth in the club in the short amount of time that Shofner has been the head of the club.
On top of staff leaders, the student community is a big part of the club. Alex Pacheco is a student at Cass and is the President of the BETA club. She feels strongly about Shofner, saying “Since she’s become the head of BETA, she’s done amazing. She gives us a lot of credit, but she does the most that she can.” Every good leader is sure to recognize those around them. Shofner is no different, and that shines through in her work. “She brought a good and different spirit to the club, and it lifted everybody’s energy, especially the officers. We all feel excited about what’s coming and going to be a part of the future.” BETA club is a tough club to get in, and especially be the head of. Shofner does it so diligently and does it well every time.
Being so deeply involved in so many school activities can become stressful very quickly. Shofner explains, “Yes it does get stressful, but the reason I am involved in so many clubs and organizations is because I get to meet more kids. If I had never been involved with BETA or prom, I would never have gotten these opportunities.” Since Shofner teaches French, she gets the same kids mostly all year for the next two to four years. She loves the kids she teaches in French, but she loves meeting and helping other kids around the school as well. Shofner is very selfless and does so much here at Cass High School with a great passion for her community.
Shofner plays an incredibly active role in the school’s environment, she manages to lend a helping hand to everyone, but overall, she does it all for the students. Her main goal is clearly to be the best teacher and leader that she can be to her students, and the students and staff members think of her that way too.
White also sees Shofner’s worth of the nomination on top of the BETA role and said, “To be that involved outside of teaching French is huge, and a big responsibility. It’s a huge indicator of her character and her passion for what she does, so it’s a definite yes that she deserves teacher of the year.” On top of thinking she was a perfect pick for BETA, she also showed much appreciation and love for Shofner’s character and believes the award was well deserved.
Pacheco has been around Shofner outside of BETA, and believes she was the perfect pick for the award. “Shofner has done many good things for Cass High School in such a short time. As a student, I know how tedious it is, I can’t imagine what it’s like as a teacher doing extra things. But she handles it all amazingly.” Since Pacheco is the head of a few things herself, she can personally feel how stressful it can be. But, Shofner handles it well and continues to improve. “ I feel like she’s finally getting the recognition that she deserves because, in addition to just doing things behind the scenes, she has a great spirit. Everybody knows and loves Mrs. Shofner, and I’m so happy she got it.” Shofner continues to do remarkable things for Cass, and the students feel that way about her.

Overall, Katherine Shofner was a perfect pick for Cass High School’s Teacher of the Year award, and she continues to show her dedication to Cass. Students and teachers alike agree that she is the most deserving of this award due to her apparent care of her community. Even though she’s involved in many aspects of the school, she always goes above and beyond, and will never be heard complaining.