"Teacher of the Year" Ann Marie Corgill resigned last week after teaching for 21 years because the Alabama Department of Education said she was unqualified to teach the fifth grade, according to The Washington Post.
The veteran teacher said she quit when her "frustration boiled over" with the bureaucracy, USA Today reported. The Alabama educator explained herself in her resignation letter.
"After 21 years of teaching in grades 1-6, I have no answers as to why this is a problem now, so instead of paying more fees, taking more tests, and proving once again that I am qualified to teach, I am resigning," NPR reported.
The longtime teacher was moved from teaching second grade to fifth, when a state education administrator called the Oliver Elementary School in Birmingham, Ala., and said she lacked the required certifications to teach, according to USA Today.
The Alabama Department of Education said in a statement that Oliver Elementary is a Title I school that receives federal funds for teaching low-income students.
"When an inquiry was made, the department reported that her current [state] teaching certificate covers primary grades through Grade 3," the Alabama Department of Education said in a statement. The national certification doesn't replace the state requirements for all teachers to be "highly qualified," according to AL.com.
"The wall of bureaucracy I encountered trying to straighten all of this out with my employer led to my writing the letter," Corgill said in a statement to AL.com. "This experience has shown me the importance of teachers' voices in public education."
"It's time to bring joy, professionalism, and pride back to the profession." Corgill added. "It's time we speak up so that all schools can attract and retain the most highly qualified teachers. If I can be that voice for thousands of colleagues and children, I will certainly and always be that voice and that teacher."
Despite her frustration, she isn't quitting teaching altogether. "I will continue to give my life to the profession," she told AL.com.
