Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/50712
Five CTA members named Teachers of the Year IN A TIME OF excessive cuts and dwindling resources, the 2012 California Teachers of the Year find success and recognition in their approach to teaching. "This honor is afforded to teachers who have demonstrated a special ability to connect with their students, a zest for the classroom, a genuine passion for an occupation that is so demanding yet oh so rewarding, as these five talented individuals will attest," explained Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson. The five teachers to receive this year's honor are: REBECCA MIELIWOCKI Seventh-Grade English, Luther Burbank Middle School BURBANK TEACHERS ASSOCIATION Mieliwocki has been teach- ing for 13 years, including nine years at Burbank Middle School, where she teaches general education and Gifted and Talented Education classes. She is faculty chair and serves on the school leadership team. Her lessons are infused with a wide array of technical tools that, as her principal says, "brings lessons to life." Mieliwocki will go on to repre- sent California in the National Teacher of the Year program this spring. Mieliwocki: "If I accomplish anything with my students, I am proud to say, it's that when they leave my class- room, they are better people than when they walked through my door." TOM COLLETT Eighth-Grade Science, Newark Junior High School NEWARK TEACHERS ASSOCIATION Collett taught earth sci- ence for 17 years at Newark Memorial High School. The 2010-11 school year was his first at Newark Junior High School, where he cur- rently teaches eighth grade science. An eclectic mix of magician and scientist, Collett keeps his students actively engaged through a treasure trove of strate- gies that include hands-on learning and the use of new educational technology, like a student response system where responses to ques- tions are sent directly to his computer. Collett: "Students need to feel connected to their teacher, which makes them brave, enthusiastic, and eager to learn." SHARI ANN HEROUT FLORENCE AVOGNON Kindergarten and RtI, Foxboro Elementary School TRAVIS UNIFIED TEACHERS ASSOCIATION Herout has been teach- ing for 15 years, three of which have been at Foxboro Elementary School, where she teaches kindergarten and provides Response to Intervention instruction. (RtI is a process that schools can use to help children who are struggling academically or behaviorally.) Each school day, her young children enter her world with a sense of wonder. They are each greeted personally with a handshake or elbow bump, and they instantly know they are safe in a classroom where "we make room for everyone to shine." Herout: "Once a child gets a taste of success, failure is no longer a measure of worth — strengths and suc- cesses are that measure, and weaknesses are simply skills to be worked on." High School Reading/ Reading Intervention, The Phoenix Academy LOS ANGELES COUNTY EDUCATION ASSOCIATION Avognon has been teaching for 18 years, including nine years at Central Juvenile Hall, a detention facility for students going through the court system. She teaches high school English and history. Due to budget cuts, Avognon was transferred in September to another court school, The Phoenix Academy, a residential treatment program for adolescent substance abus- ers, where she continues to teach high school. Avognon: Part of her effec- tiveness as a teacher and mentor is to remind each new class of students that youth is fleeting. "I share with them that they were children longer than they will be teens, and that what they do for these brief six years can dictate what hap- pens for the next 60 years of their lives." KEN LAVIGNE Grades 10-12 OASIS and English, La Serna High School WHITTIER SECONDARY EDUCATION ASSOCIATION LaVigne has been a teacher and football coach for 27 years, the last 21 of which have been spent teaching English at La Serna High School. Within days of retiring from coaching in 2006, he was asked to help develop a program for the school's most at-risk students. He and Principal Martin Plourde created Organized Academic Support in School (OASIS) with amazing results. The average GPA of the inaugural class upon entering the pro- gram was 0.93. A year later, the average GPA increased to 2.28. The first graduating class totaled a dozen stu- dents; last school year, the number doubled. LaVigne: "My job is to deter- mine the reasons for the lack of effort, anger, and defi- ance. Loneliness and desper- ation cut deeply into the spirit of a child. I am a medic. I have to first stop the bleeding, and then get to the business of healing." December 2011 • January 2012 / www.cta.org 23