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Bellingham Educator Named Teacher of the Year
Seattle - September 28, 2009 - Jamie Yoos, a chemistry teacher at Bellingham High School, was named 2010 Washington Teacher of the Year at a press conference this afternoon.
State Superintendent Randy Dorn recognized the nine Regional Teachers of the Year and announced the State Teacher of the Year at a ceremony hosted by Experience Music Project | Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame and The Beresford Company.
“Jamie and all the teachers of the year represent our very best because they put student success above everything else,” Dorn said. “Where others might see challenges, they see opportunities.”
Yoos and his fellow teachers were also praised by program sponsors, PEMCO Insurance, SMARTer Kids Foundation, and Saxton Bradley, Inc. who donated cash awards, technology prizes and scholarships for classroom improvements for both the State and Regional Teachers of the Year.
Jamie teaches chemistry and bicycle maintenance at Bellingham High School, where students say high standards, innovative methods and mutual respect make his classes both their most challenging and most exciting.
Jamie’s classroom is a place of industry and experiment where students learn that new discoveries are only made when individuals have the courage to risk being wrong. To stay in touch with his students’ beginner experiences, Jamie takes on learning a new skill himself every year. Most recently, he’s started kite boarding.
Jamie is passionate about teaching to multiple intelligences, and he is especially committed to hands on learning. For his chemistry classes, he produces vodcast (video podcast) lectures that students view at home to maximize the amount of lab time in class. Jamie also engages kinesthetic learners in his bicycle maintenance class, where students are asked to problem solve, communicate effectively and utilize technology every day.
His colleague, John Hoffman, said, “At all levels, Jamie is guiding, challenging and inspiring his students to grow and learn. His standard is not far short of herculean, but all of his peers can at least aspire to the level of significance that Jamie achieves with his students.”
Regional winners
Before announcing the State Teacher of the Year, Superintendent Dorn introduced the regional finalists, nominated by their respective educational service districts. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and The Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession provide professional development for all nine finalists. The Regional Teachers of the Year included:
James Loucks, West Valley School District
Jim has been the band director at West Valley High School in Spokane since 1992. When he arrived, the band was a struggling group of 17. Today, students from West Valley are invited to perform around the region and country.
Among his colleagues, Jim is known as a team player and creative problem solver. By utilizing eBay and building relationships with dealers, he has been able to save the district thousands of dollars without sacrificing the quality or quantity of instruments the band program needs to be successful.
Jim’s band is a family. As one parent put it, “Students who enter as young freshmen graduate four years later as young adults, shaped for life by his personal mentoring, coaching, teaching – and parenting.”
Madeline Dunn, Toppenish School District
Madeline is the reading coach at Garfield Elementary School.
She has taught in Toppenish for the past 35 years and has a deep and abiding belief that literacy is central to a child’s academic success. That belief, coupled with her mastery of using data to guide instruction, has helped the fourth-grade WASL scores to improve by more than 100 percent in eight years.
Throughout her career, Madeline has embraced the changes that have swept education. According to her principal, Matt Piper, one thing remains unchanged: “She truly believes that no child can be ‘left behind.’ Her willingness to do what is best for children and our school is second to none.”
Kenneth Roberts, Vancouver Public Schools
Ken teaches Spanish and CONEVyT at Fort Vancouver High School. CONEVyT is an online program that allows Spanish-speaking students to earn math and science credits in Spanish while they improve their English proficiency.
Ken not only sees the big picture, he has a plan for getting there. Ken listens to students and observes his community to uncover the full scope of need. For example, Ken has collaborated with faculty at the local community college to provide English instruction and created a network of support that includes childcare and educational resources for the entire family.
As a former student testifies: “I can honestly say that no other individual has impacted me in such a lasting, positive way . . . The professional success I enjoy today is a direct result of his work, and the most beautiful thing is that I am just one among many others who have been touched by him.”
Heather Rader, North Thurston Public Schools
Heather has taught in North Thurston Public Schools for the past 12 years, where she has served as a classroom teacher, school librarian and, most recently, elementary instructional specialist.
Regardless of her role, Heather’s philosophy remains the same: Every child is whole. When provided the right opportunities and challenges, every student can achieve.
She is also an expert communicator. Colleagues say she is able to walk into a room of new teachers, squirming fourth graders or seasoned educators and engage them in an instant with her enthusiasm, warmth and genuine interest in their experiences.
Her colleague, Megan Conklin, said, “Heather Rader’s ability to do this challenging and important work of teaching with such skill, grace and compassion truly amazes me time and time again. Her unwavering conviction that every student deserves the best possible teacher and her devotion to making that dream a reality is an inspiration to me and to many.”
Danyell Laughlin, Central Kitsap School District
For the past 13 years, Danyell has taught English at Klahowya Secondary School, where she connects every lesson to the world her students are living in. She believes educators must adapt by incorporating technology and new methods of instruction into their classrooms if they are to truly engage all students.
Her ability to build trusting relationships with students is unparalleled. She is kind and fair, understanding and demanding. And she is so trusted by students that recently the entire Students Opposing Suicide Team listed Danyell as their personal advocate.
As her principal, Ryan Stevens, said, Danyell “exhibits courageous teaching on a daily basis. She welcomes struggling students into her classroom and makes them believe in their own internal abilities. She possesses the ability to locate that one ember that a student hides from other teachers and she stokes that ember until the student catches fire with a desire to learn.”
Michelle Kelly, Kent School District
Michelle is a National Board Certified Teacher who teaches a third and fourth grade class in the highly capable program at Kent Elementary.
From the very beginning of her career, Michelle has sought out opportunities to teach in high need environments. The highly capable program at Kent seems the perfect fit for her. Michelle’s classroom includes English language learners and special education students. She is able to expertly accommodate the unique needs of every student while maintaining high expectations. The result is that each student receives the highest quality education possible.
Writes one parent, “Her success in helping my own Aspberger’s afflicted son become a hi-cap, Honor Roll student is only one example of her ability to overcome adversity on the path to success. Michelle Kelly changes the lives of her student, their parents and her co-workers in the most positive way!”
Aimee Simington-Pearce, Pasco School District
Aimee is a special education teacher at McLoughlin Middle School. Her job is to peel back the layers of frustration and misunderstanding and to help her students develop the skills they need to be successful. She approaches each student by assessing first what they are good at and using those things as a spring board to the next goal.
Aimee is committed to mainstreaming her students whenever possible. Her students attend school dances and have general education “buddies” and attend general education classes once a day. She envisions a classroom immersed in diversity, one in which her students learn alongside highly capable kids and English language learners.
Her principal, Michelle Whitney, said, “She is an agent of change, who has impacted McLoughlin in more ways that I can mention, and she can ever imagine or would be willing to admit. Her humble and kind demeanor is steadfast and admirable. She is a gift.”
Thomas Robinson, Lake Chelan School District
Tom is a National Board Certified Teacher who teaches math and physics and coaches girls’ basketball at Chelan High School.
As a coach, Tom emphasizes integrity and excellence. He teaches his players that they all have important contributions to make in the community and on the court, while maintaining a competitive program. This year, his first coaching, they finished fifth in the state.
As a teacher, Tom’s enthusiasm and approachable expertise can guide even the most reluctant student to amazing results. Describing Tom’s impact on their daughter’s life, one set of parents wrote that Tom “directed her to rethink her capabilities as a student and helped her identify and develop her own personal strengths. She will tell you that because of his influence in her life she feels compelled to work harder and learn more, to find ways to serve others and to approach life with an outlook of positive expectation. Through his example her life and her perception of herself have been stretched and shaped in a very wonderful way.”
The 2010 State Teacher of the Year, Jamie Yoos, will be considered for national Teacher of the Year, which is awarded by the Council of Chief State School Officers. President Obama will announce the winner in a special ceremony at the White House in the spring.
As the Washington Teacher of the Year, Mr. Yoos will serve as an ambassador for the teaching profession in 2009-10 while maintaining his duties at Bellingham High School.
The award was selected by a two former state teachers of the year and representatives from the following organizations: the Association of Washington School Principals; Washington Education Association; Washington State Board of Education; Washington State Parent Teacher Association; the Office of the Governor; Thrive by Five Washington; and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Photos of each of this year’s finalists are posted on the OSPI education awards page: http://www.k12.wa.us/EducationAwards/.
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