A Wells County Teacher was announced as Teacher of the Year for 2023 Wednesday by the Indiana Department of Education.
Tara Cocanower is a U.S. history and AP world history teacher at Bluffton High School. She also leads the schools’ history club and serves as history department team leader.
This year, her students achieved an 83.5 percent pass rate on the AP World History exam. The state average is 48.1 percent.
Cocanower also serves as head coach for both the girls golf team and the girls track and field team. She organizes a junior golf league and youth track meets to make sports accessible to all children in the community.
This year, Cocanower has partners with a fellow teacher to offer a principle of teacher course to introduce students to the education profession.
Cocanower attended the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville, where she studied history, archaeology and education, and served two years in the Peace Corps.
