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Vermilion Parish Superintendent Jerome Puyau, AHS Principal
Lyndelle Theriot, Shane Theall and Dream Teachers’ Amie Burton.

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Dream Teachers’ Amie Burton presents Abbeville High’s Shane Theall with a gift for being named as semifinalist for State Teacher of the year. Abbeville High Principal Lyndelle Theriot (right) said the school is proud of Theall.

Abbeville High’s Shane Theall named State Teacher of the Year semifinalist

Abbeville High sent its graduates off into a bright future last Friday night.
Earlier in the week, one of the people who helped shape many of those futures received some well deserved recognition.
Shane Theall is one of the semifinalists for State Teacher of the Year. Amie Burton, Chairman of the Board of Dream Teachers, the organization that conducts the award, presented Theall, who teaches agriculture, welding and carpentry, with a gift honoring him as a semifinalist.
Theall, who earned Vermilion Parish High School Teacher of the Year, said, while it is definitely an honor, this is just a result of coming to work every day and doing the best job that he can and remaining focused on what matters most.
“We don’t do our job for recognition,” Theall said. “We do this for the children.”
Burton said that is admirable, which makes it nice to be able to honor teachers like Theall.
“This is such an honor,” Burton said while presenting Theall with a gift basket in his classroom. “Teachers work extremely hard and don’t always get the recognition that they deserve.”
Abbeville High Principal Lyndelle Theriot said Theall is deserving of every bit of recognition he receives.
“He’s an outstanding teacher and we are so proud to have him,” Theriot said.
Theall is himself an Abbeville High graduate, adding to what this means for the school.
“This does mean a lot for Abbeville High School,” Theriot said. “These kind of things show what this school is all about.
“It shows that Abbeville High prepares you, and Shane is preparing kids for their futures.”
That is the message Vermilion Parish Superintendent Jerome Puyau passed on to the students in Theall’s class last Wednesday morning.
“You may think right now that you won’t remember Mr. Theall,” Puyau told the students. “You will remember him. He’s teaching you skills that you will be using for the rest of your life.
“He’s a great teacher.”
Theall will be among 48 semifinalists, including teachers and principals, who will attend a luncheon on Thursday, May 23, at the Louisiana Governor’s Mansion. During the event, the finalists for Teacher of the Year and Principal of the Year will be announced. The winners will be announced during a ceremony on July 19.
That he has made it this far, Theall said he is going to work hard to bring the award home to Abbeville High.
“I am going to put forth the best product I can to try to win,” Theall said, “because I was chosen. I want to do this for Vermilion Parish, the school and the students. Either way, I am going to keep working hard on our goal of educating students so that they can become productive citizens.
“That’s always our focus.”

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