It’s Thursday, Blue Valley!

☀️ Today’s forecast: Sunny and slightly warmer. High: 88. Low: 66.

🚨 One thing to know today

Olathe Public Schools middle school teacher Taylor Bussinger, affectionately known to his students as “Mr. Buss,” was recently named the 2024 Kansas Teacher of the Year.

He is now in the running to be the National Teacher of the Year.

“He represents everything we want in a teacher and role model for our students,” Olathe Superintendent Brent Yeager said in a statement. “He teaches his academic content with excellence to ensure his students succeed, while also taking the time to care for his students’ well-being so they feel valued and heard in his classroom.”

For his part, Bussinger said he was stunned when he heard his name read at the annual Dale Dennis Kansas Teacher of the Year banquet in Wichita on Saturday.

“True education is authentic,” Bussinger said in his acceptance speech that night. “It’s messy. It’s real. It’s full of energy. It’s full of laughter. It’s full of tears, and it’s full of vibrant passion in which young people are inspired to be curious enough to know who they truly are in the context of an ever-changing world.”

Bussinger has taught at Prairie Trail Middle School in Olathe for nine years. He currently teaches social studies and coaches the boys’ basketball and cross-country teams. He is also founder of the school’s Diversity Club.

As the state teacher of the year, Bussinger will now travel across Kansas over the next year to advocate for education and provide professional development for other teachers.