At Tuesday’s ceremony, Hasler-Reid was showered with all sorts of awards including a laptop computer, $5,000 in cash from the Masonic Fraternity of Oklahoma, an original print from Oklahoma artist Greg Burns and a diamond lapel pin. She also gets to drive a new Toyota Prius for a year.

Ball said she put 40,000 miles on her prize car when she was Teacher of the Year.

Muskogee Schools Public Relations Director Cynthia Heupel said the school will hire a temporary replacement while Hasler-Reid is away. She said the State Department of Education will pay the replacement’s salary.

Hasler-Reid also received 36-hour graduate tuition waivers from the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University, University of Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State University.

A summa cum laude graduate of Northeastern State University, Hasler-Reid has taught Spanish, English and journalism for 12 years at Muskogee. She is National Board Certified in World Languages.

She and her husband, 7th and 8th Grade Center math teacher Michael Reid, spent summer 2005 on an expense-paid learning excavation at the Crow Creek Archaeological Center in Colorado and a language immersion program in Costa Rica this past summer.

Reid said he was surprised and overwhelmed at his wife’s honor.

“We didn’t really count on her winning,” he said. “But I think she deserved it.”

In the annual award contest, regional selection committees narrow a large field of candidates to 12. Then, a statewide committee of civic and business leaders and journalists selects the winning candidate based upon teaching portfolio, a videotape of the teacher working in the classroom, individual interviews and a round-table discussion of educational issues.

Reach Cathy Spaulding at 684-2928 or cspaulding@ muskogeephoenix.com.