KS Teacher of the Year presented free rental car at State Capitol

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - The Kansas Teacher of the Year got some new wheels Tuesday.

Susanne Stevenson, a fourth grade teacher out of Dodge City, was presented with the keys to a 2021 Nissan Kicks in front of the statehouse.

“It’s just a nice reward to show our respect for everything that she’s doing to mold the future minds of America,” Enterprise’s Austin Haywood said.

The car is hers for the next six months, and she’ll need it. Stevenson was named Teacher of the Year back in September, and will spend most of this year traveling to conferences, workshops, and policy discussions throughout the state.

“My superintendent said ‘Susanne, when you get this car I want you to run the wheels off of it and make sure everyone in our state knows how important education is,” Stevenson said. “I took that to heart but I plan on keeping the wheels.”

The Kansas Department of Education says Stevenson will have traveled more than 15,000 miles by the end of 2022.