‘I Was Not Done': How Politics Drove This Teacher of the Year Out of the Classroom [edweek.org]

^{Karen Lauritzen stands for a portrait on the Millikin University Campus in Decatur, Ill., on August 30, 2023. Laurizen, Idaho’s 2023 Teacher of the Year, moved to Illinois for a new job due to harassment over her support of the LGBTQ+ community and Black Lives Matter.  Neeta R. Satam for Education Week}

By Madeline Will, EducationWeek, August 31, 2023

When Karen Lauritzen was named Idaho’s 2023 teacher of the year, she considered it a celebration of her two-decade career in the classroom. But the recognition launched a chain of events that ultimately caused her to quit her beloved profession.

Lauritzen, who taught 4th grade in Post Falls, a city just east of the Washington state border, was accused by conservative media of being a “left-wing activist” who “follows drag queens on social media” and “promotes transgenderism” and “liberal ideology.” Parents, she said, began regarding her with suspicion, opting their children out of certain lessons.

Lauritzen spoke to Education Week about the backlash that drove her out of the classroom and the state. This interview was edited for length and clarity.

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