Republic teacher Buck earns $1,500 in teacher appreciation contest

Cable America holds contest for best local educators
A Republic High School teacher was recognized for her work during an awards presentation on Tuesday, Oct. 4. Stacey Buck, a special education teacher, was presented with a check for $1,500 by Cable America as the winner of their Teacher Appreciation Contest.
Alan Toscano, commercial accounts manager at Cable America, said Buck was nominated for the award by Brandy Plaskett, the parent of a student who graduated in 2021.
“She was nominated by someone who wasn’t even in school anymore,” he said.
Toscano added that while he would have liked to have seen more teachers nominated in the Republic/Clever area, he believes Buck was highly deserving of the prize.
“It couldn’t have gone to a better teacher,” he said.
Buck said she taught Plaskett’s daughter, Kailey, a student with whom she enjoyed working.
“I have so many fond memories of Kailey in the classroom,” she said. “Kailey could be challenging and rewarding at the same time. I really appreciated seeing her bloom over the three years she was in my room. I will always remember her love for the laundry and her appreciation of good, and bad, puns.”
To motivate Kailey to do what she wanted, Buck said, she sometimes used some original teaching strategies.
“In my classroom, with the unique population, we have to think way outside the box,” she said. “One of the funniest memories I have of Kailey was when I needed her to leave my room, but she would not budge. We ended up luring her out of my room by holding her beloved basket of clean laundry and threatening to smell it. It was such a ridiculous solution, but it worked.”
As to learning that she had won the award, Buck said it took her completely by surprise.
“At first, I was confused and shocked,” she said. “I thought it wasn't real because it seemed too good to be true. I was extremely flattered and humbled. It is such a huge honor to be acknowledged for teacher appreciation in my community.”
As to what she is going to do with her prize money, Buck said she hasn’t yet decided.
“I don't have any definite plans for the money,” she said. “I'm sure a portion of it will end up going for items for my classroom and the rest will probably go toward some house projects or family things.”
Buck is not the only winner in the contest. Toscano said that Plaskett also received a prize pack, as well as something extra for Kailey’s continuing education.
“She utilizes Cable America’s internet to continue the education for her daughter … so we went ahead and gave her three months of free service on top,” he said.
Toscano also said that Cable America will continue to hold more teacher appreciation contests after the first of 2023, and more information about those would be posted on the company’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. He also said he would like to see even more teachers be nominated for the contests.
“Moving forward, we hope to see more of this from our new Cable America company,” he said.