Donna Standley

LCM Bear Facts adviser Lindsey Fruge was recognized at the Texas Teacher of the Year event in Round Rock this past weekend.

After 16 years of teaching at LCM, English and journalism teacher Lindsey Fruge was named Region 5 Secondary Teacher of the Year and was recently recognized at the state level in Round Rock. 

Fruge was nominated and chosen as the campus teacher of the year by the faculty and staff in the spring of 2024. Then, she was selected as the LCMCISD Secondary Teacher of the Year. After that, Region 5 selected Fruge as its Secondary Teacher of the Year. She has been the Teacher of the Year twice before and Secondary Teacher of the Year once, but this is the furthest she has ever been. Fruge was one of 20 secondary teachers in the state of Texas to be honored at the Texas Teacher of the Year event this past weekend. 

Fruge has a long background in education and an even longer one in journalism, after graduating from high school in 2003 and then graduating from Stephen F. Austin State University with a journalism degree in 2007. During her time at SFA, she worked as the campus newspaper editor and wrote part-time for the local newspaper. 

“I worked in public relations for an assisted living facility for two years after graduating from college, but I wanted to get back into the journalism field,” Fruge said. “The journalism teacher position at LCM kind of fell into my lap in the summer of 2009 and I have been hooked ever since. This is my 16th year teaching at LCM, and I can’t imagine doing anything else or working anywhere else. This really is my home.” 

Within 16 years, challenges have rolled in and Fruge has found her way through them. Her busy schedule falls on top of being a mom and a wife. Fruge said some of the biggest challenges for her are finding enough hours in the day to get everything done. 

“As a journalism and English teacher, I have a lot going on every day,” Fruge said. “From lesson planning and grading essays to editing yearbook spreads and running the newspaper social media pages, I sometimes have to just stop and remind myself to breathe. It’s a lot and I sometimes don’t have the time to fit in everything that I need to. It’s also a challenge to juggle all of these things with having a life outside of work.” 

Fruge said her mom is one of her biggest inspirations as a teacher. Her mom was her AP English teacher for her junior and senior years of high school, as well as her UIL journalism coach. 

“My mom helped me get to State two years in a row, placing second my junior year,” Fruge said. “She was also named the Secondary Teacher of the Year in 1997, so in a way I feel like I am truly following in her footsteps, and that means the world. She is retired now, but she was always well-loved by her students, and she worked hard every day. I still aspire to be the teacher that she was. I am also inspired by both the students I currently have and all the ones I have had in the past. Kind messages from former students telling me I impacted them is also what keeps me going on the hard days.” 

Fruge said she always tries to treat her students with kindness, and that is something that stems from having her mom as a high school teacher.

“When I think back to being in high school, I always remember my mom standing at her classroom door greeting her students,” Fruge said. “I have taken that and do the same with my students; I say hi or good morning to every student who walks in my room, and I feel like that goes a long way. Teaching can be exhausting on most days, but I really do feel that showing the students you care and having a positive and enthusiastic attitude makes a huge difference.” 

Fruge’s former student and newspaper co-editor, Camille Kelly, said Fruge is the kind of teacher that makes students want to do their best in her class. She is never too harsh, yet she is able to instruct and make students want to do well. What makes her unique is how she has such a big heart for every student. Not a single person in any of her classes, even the most reserved of them, feels unseen.  

According to Fruge, she has countless memories from the past 16 years, but perhaps one of her favorites was placing second as a team at the UIL State Meet in May of 2024.

“My journalism team won the regional championship in 2023 and 2024, so we had high hopes going into the state meet last year,” Fruge said. “Never did we think we would walk away with a team plaque. To be able to walk across the stage and receive a second place plaque in front of the best writers and coaches in the state of Texas is something I will never forget. It means more than any award I could ever receive for teaching. To see my students succeed is more meaningful and fulfilling than anything else.” 

Fruge said this award means more to her than she may lead others to believe, as she does not like much attention on herself. It also came to her at a time when she needed a little boost.

“My UIL team placed second at State on May 14, and I lost my dad very suddenly and unexpectedly on May 16 to a fatal heart attack,” Fruge said. “I truly went from the highest of highs in my career to the lowest of lows in my personal life. When I found out that I received the Secondary Teacher of the Year award and then the Region 5 Teacher of the Year award, I just knew it all happened for a reason and that it happened this year over any other year.

Kelly said Fruge is compassionate toward her students and never stops believing in them. Even when they didn’t think they could achieve something she still believed they could. Even when they didn’t achieve all that they wanted she was still so proud of them.   

“I just want to be someone who makes a positive impact in others’ lives,” Fruge said. “I want to leave work every day knowing I made a difference.”