ESC Region 12 is pleased to recognize extraordinary educators from Central Texas. The 2012 Region 12 Secondary Teacher of the Year (TOTY) isKevin Rasco of Belton High School in Belton ISD.

Region 12's 2012 Secondary Teacher of the Year

Kevin Rasco
Belton ISD

Kevin Rasco, Region 12’s Secondary Teacher of the Year, has been teaching for five years, all with Belton High School. He currently teaches 12th-grade economics and Advanced Placement (AP) macroeconomics. He has taught 10th-grade AP world history and ninth grade world geography as well. Both of Rasco’s parents were teachers and his father was his inspiration to teach.

Rasco continuously strives to improve his teaching skills—never getting too comfortable with lessons or activities. This past year, he applied for and was awarded a $30,000 Project Innovate Grant to bring iPads into the classroom, which required him to reinvent his teaching style to integrate the new technology. He has set up a web site with blogs, wikis, forums, calendars, worksheets and lessons plans that he uses with his students.

The Belton High School teacher strives to instill the drive to improve in all of his students because he believes it is a skill that all students must have. He works hard to actively model an interest in learning, improving and asking questions and uses real-world examples in daily class activities. He feels that examples from the “real world” help students relate a lesson to their future and/or connect it to their past.

Rasco enjoys leading technology initiatives and integrating technology into the classroom. He shares his passion with fellow colleagues through Mac and iPad trainings in his district and state conference presentations. He was chosen by Apple to attend an Apple Academy in California this summer, which will allow him to take the lead in training staff and students. Rasco is currently in the process of helping an entire middle school move to the instructional model he uses and will help convert the whole district in the coming years. In addition, he leads staff development in Challenge Based Learning, the district’s instructional model.

He has won several teaching awards and was most recently named the 2012 Belton ISD Secondary Teacher of the Year and Belton High School Teacher of the Year. He also was chosen as the Belton Rotary Teacher of the Quarter this past January.

Rasco graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Composite Social Science with a teaching certificate from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

Rasco is just as active in the community as he is in his district. He volunteers at his church, hosts a weekly student-lead Bible study and coaches the Belton Challenge Team, a group of students who compete in an academic trivia competition. Since 2009, he has served as treasurer on the Board of Directors for the Temple Santa Fe Community Credit Union.

Rasco and his wife Randi reside in Temple and are in the process of adopting a child from Ethiopia.

For more information or TOTY photos, contact Jennifer Marshall-Higgins at 254-297-1198 or jhiggins@esc12.net. 

About the Texas Teacher of the Year Program (TOTY)
Texas Teacher of the Year is the highest honor that the State of Texas can bestow upon a teacher. Conducted by the Texas Education Agency, the Texas Teacher of the Year Program annually recognizes and rewards teachers who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and excellence in teaching. Forty teachers - two from each Regional Education Service Center - are eligible for two titles, Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year and Texas Secondary Teacher of the Year. Additional program information is available at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/awards/toy/.         

About ESC Region 12
One of 20 regional education service centers statewide, the Education Service Center Region 12 (ESC Region 12) is dedicated to serving school districts, charter schools and area private/parochial schools in improving student performance. ESC Region 12 partners with school districts to deliver services and solutions to educators so they may help all children be successful. Based in Waco, with satellite offices in Corsicana, Hamilton, Nolanville, and Teague, the ESC Region 12’s service area includes Bell, Bosque, Coryell, Falls, Freestone, Hamilton, Hill, Lampasas, Limestone, McLennan, Mills, and Navarro counties.