By Jadynne Brady

Editor-in-Chief

The Jag

Art teacher and the 2026 South Teacher of the Year Jeremy Baker loves all things art.

“I love to experiment with 3D, with sculpture stuff, with photo, with drawing, with painting,” says Baker. “Mrs. Martin will tell you I hate ceramics, but I don’t. I teach technology, so I can’t get dirty and then teach.”

Baker is appreciative of receiving Teacher of the Year but feels that his art staff deserve the award as well.

“It’s a big compliment, but I definitely share it with my staff,” Baker says. “My art staff has just always been here, we’ve always been kind of a united front. So, I take it for the team, not for myself.”

 Art teacher Jeran Avery, who has worked with Baker for the past 24 years, finds himself laughing at the attention.

“I’m not surprised that he got it, but I’m kind of snickering, because I know he doesn’t like attention. So, I think it’s pretty funny that he got it, and he’s probably really, he’s really uncomfortable with the whole thing,” says Avery.

Avery is unsurprised at Baker’s award because of the hard work that Baker puts in.

“He does a pretty outstanding job, preparing for all his classes, which he has a whole bunch of different ones. And then how he connects with kids is really exceptional,” says Avery.

Baker’s original was not to be an art teacher, however.

“My first major in college was accounting, and it was super easy. But it was intensely boring, and I did not like it,” says Baker.

Soon, he got into art while attending Mizzou. He then went into a more educational route due to influence from his wife, who was “100 percent educator.”

“I kind of knew early on high school was where I wanted to be,” he says. “I would attribute my wife and her dedication to education is what got me and then it just grabbed a hold.”

For art, he loved the freedom to choose where to go and what to pursue.

“The only books I read in elementary school where they choose your own adventure. It’s kind of like what art classes, you get to choose which path you go down,” Baker says.

In the classroom, Baker’s favorite thing is being with his students and watching them grow.

“My interactions with students, I just really enjoy that part of it,” Baker says. “And then seeing them create things above what they originally thought they could do, like when they’ve surprised themselves, that there’s no better feeling than that.”

Senior Echo-Clifton Scherer, who worked with Baker as an aid and for the Downtown Alive project earlier this year, enjoys his teaching style and finds that’s one of the reasons why he was named Teacher of the Year.

“He has no problem working like individually with students during class,” says Scherer. “That’s how he prefers to do a lot of stuff over just the kind of cookie cutter presentation.”

Baker founds that he is improving by constantly learning.

“I think if I’m constantly learning, it allows me to teach better,” he says. “I think most educations will tell you they like learning just as much as teaching.”

Baker hopes that he can represent South as well as he can.

“I don’t enjoy awards too much because I’m just doing what I feel like I need to do,” he says. “I appreciate it and I’ll do my best to represent the school, because I think our school is fantastic.”