Mike Wolanin | The Republic Columbus East biology teacher Derek Chastain is the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation Teacher of the Year. He is pictured at Columbus East High School in Columbus, Ind., Monday, Aug. 19, 2024.
When Derek Chastain was a youngster, he knew he loved science. By the time he earned his undergraduate degree, he knew he had to share that passion with others.
“I didn’t just want to do science for a living, it’s really more meaningful for me personally, when I get to show people things they haven’t seen before.”
Chastain, a science teacher at Columbus East High School, is BCSC’s 2024 Teacher of the Year and will be the district’s representative for the Indiana Teacher of the Year Award.
“I was really honored to be selected for my high school, because we just have so many amazing teachers here and likewise for the whole district,” Chastain said. “… Part of it feels a little awkward, because I don’t ever think I work any harder than anybody else.”
“It’s really a humbling experience and it is nice to know that the work that I’ve done, that we do here together makes a difference,” he said.
Chastain has been at East for nearly two decades, and still devotes additional time teaching at IU Columbus, which he has done for almost 10 years, he said.
Middle school was the time when “science really came alive,” for him.
“I had teachers that did some really neat demonstrations and labs, and it was like a switch, it’s kind of like one moment, I wasn’t really all that interested in it and all of the sudden thought, ‘man this is the coolest thing in the world, this is what I want to do.’”
Biology in particular has always been a favorite.
“It’s the science of life, here I am, a living thing after all.”
Like a lot of students, Chastain said, his journey into the study of biology began with dissections in class, later coming to appreciate biochemistry, cells and how DNA works.
Chastain graduated from West Washington High School in 1996 and then went on to Indiana University to study.
He began to find that maybe teaching was something he would be a fit for as his studies went on.
“I started assistant teaching on campus, and I really enjoyed that. And then I had this realization with my academic adviser that, hey, I really want to share science with others.”
He earned his master’s in education at IU in 2002 and began his career at BCSC the next fall at Central Middle School. After a three-year run there, he arrived at East and has been there ever since.
Along with biology, Chastain also teaches paleontology, astronomy and a genetics course.
“Science is not just what we know. It’s how we got there, how we figured it out. So that’s always been a draw to me,” Chastain said.
The genetics course Chastain teaches was ahead of the curve, giving students a chance to do DNA analysis 10 years ago at a time where they were among some of the first high school students to do so.
“Everybody’s different, and we need all these different people to do all kinds of different things in the world, but my hope is still that they’ll take away something new, that they’ll be amazed by something and they won’t forget it.”
Since his honor was announced, Chastain said he had been heartened by the many messages he’s received from former students, who recalled what he taught in his class, but also the life lessons they’ve carried with them since.
“I’ve heard from a lot here lately and it’s great to know what they’ve been up to, and to know that they were equipped, prepared for life after high school. But it’s also really neat to hear their memories from this place,” Chastain said. ” …That’s been so touching, I’ve really been moved to tears more than once with some of the messages that I’ve received.”
Chastain was recognized at Monday night’s school board meeting, and BCSC will assist Chastain in creating a portfolio to submit to the state for the Indiana Teacher of the Year Award. The winner at the state level represents Indiana’s teachers through the Council of Chief State School Officers’ National Teacher of the Year program.
