Mr. Valder Wins “Most Likely to Dye Their Hair Purple” in Teacher Superlatives Contest

It’s time to tally up the votes of the student population to determine the 2024-25 Teacher Superlatives. As this year’s resident vote-counter, I enjoyed observing the quirks and variations of each student’s vote within the pool of responses. My observations were extensive – I was amazed to read how many different iterations students came up with for the spelling of Mr. Poppe’s name and how dramatically the votes were skewed for some of the categories.

Additionally, it is well worth mentioning that many superlative categories were very closely split between various teachers. While we could only recognize one teacher for each title, we acknowledge the many names written down by students, who may not have won the popular vote, but whose numbers were significant and sincere. We love all our teachers, and we appreciate their dedication to making indelible impacts on their students’ lives.

Now without further delay, let’s dive into the Superlatives!

Coming in strong, Mr. O’Keefe and Mr. McDonald tallied up the most votes for “Best Duo,” solidifying their reputation as peas in a pod. Mr. Murray and Mr. Brosnan dominated all competition for “Best Bromance,” as every Jordan student knows that these classroom neighbors are inseparable–from the 200 hallway, to the cross country trail, to the very street they live on in Durham.

Mr. Murray also landed the title “Most Energized,” but was followed closely by Ms. Wescott (perhaps reflecting their bond in real life). Ms. Wescott did, however, win “Most Likely to Become TikTok Famous.” Can’t you just see her doing Charli XCX’s apple dance or making a candy salad?

Ms. Daming and Mr. Stapleton tied for “Biggest Heart,” and Mr. Perez took home “Most Likely to Be Thanked in an Acceptance Speech” (by a future student winning an EGOT, of course).

Mr. McDonald would not exit the stage winning just one award and was also crowned “Most Sarcastic.” I can imagine his reaction to his victory will embody this spirit of this superlative.

Not to be outdone, Mr. Valder was a two-time champ as well, absolutely sweeping the competition for both “Loudest” and “Most Likely to Dye Their Hair Purple.” We can’t wait to see that look, Mr. Valder!

Taking nearly half the votes, Mr. Dittmar easily won “Craziest Life Stories/Most Lore.” If this surprises you, start a conversation with him the next time you see him in the hallway. 

Mr. Poppe (spelled “Poppi,” “Poppy,” and “Pope” in student submissions) won “Funniest,” and Dr. Lynn took “Most Likely to be Seen on the News.” I agree that the probability of that happening is quite high.

Jordan’s AP Art History teacher and fashion enthusiast Ms. Thaden won “Best Dressed,” but the votes were very close. Some honorable mentions include Señor Sweeney, Principal Taylor, and Mr. Burton (whose talents include making his own clothes)!

Mr. Albright rightfully won “Best Decorated Classroom” for his naturally-lit, poster-covered, Christmas-light adorned Room 216. Mr. Dail won “Most Likely to Become a Podcaster.” Maybe he and Albright have an Innovation Lab collaboration in store… they’d have plenty to talk about from the student-teacher basketball game. And speaking of the pep rally, Ms. Bell and Mr. Blackwell unsurprisingly tied for “Most School Spirit.”

Finally, Ms. Odom won “Most Likely to Travel the World,” probably inspired by her cross-continental journeys to see her favorite poet perform live under Parisian skies.

That concludes our results for this year’s Teacher Superlatives. On behalf of Falcon Post, I thank our students for voting, and our teachers for all they do for this community and the people in it.