Four Dedicated Educators Named San Diego County Teacher of the Year

Business Wire, Oct 6, 2002

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 5, 2002

It was a black-tie-and-sparkles night of emotion and inspiration as four local educators were named San Diego County Teacher of the Year during the 12th annual "Cox Presents: A Salute to Teachers," a 90-minute special telecast live on Channel 4 San Diego. Channel 4 San Diego's television voice of the Padres, Matt Vasgersian, emcee'd the event which is held every year at the San Diego Civic Theatre.

The Teachers of the Year are Ross Adams of the HOPE Infant Family Support Program based at the County Office of Education; Connie Baumgardt Blackburn of Central School in the Escondido Union School District; Willie DeJean of Rancho Bernardo High School in the Poway Unified School District; and Kathy H. Dooley of Orange Glen High School in the Escondido Union School District.

The four are now candidates for California Teacher of the Year, which will be announced later this year. The teachers were selected by their school districts for the County honor on the basis of student achievement, community involvement, teaching philosophy and familiarity with current issues in education.

"Cox Presents: A Salute to Teachers" honors the excellence of the County's educators by focusing the spotlight on 36 Teachers of the Year from 27 County districts. From this field of 36 nominees, 10 Teacher of the Year finalists were announced; Holly Schneidewind of Joseph Casillas Elementary School, Chula Vista Elementary School District; Tyrico Z. Tyler of Lemon Grove Middle School, Lemon Grove School District; Noreen M. Walton, Poway High School, Poway Unified School District; Maureen T. Nolan, Marston Middle School, San Diego Unified School District; Michelle Mullen of San Dieguito High School Academy, San Dieguito Union High School District; and Martha A. Rodriguez, Sweetwater Union High School, Sweetwater Union School District.

Anxiously awaiting the announcement, the four County Teachers of the Year were each cheered to the stage by friends and families. They are:

Ross Adams, a speech & language pathologist who works with special needs infants and toddlers and their families in their homes as part of an early intervention program called HOPE. The HOPE Infant Family Support Program's goal is to recognize and reinforce the educational potential of young children as well as support their parents. During every home visit, Adams talks with a parent about an aspect of their child's development, encouraging information and communication about each special-needs child. He feels his job is to allay fear and encourage recognition of their child's potential in parents so that these special children can succeed later in school. Adams' guiding philosophy for his work is in "...recognizing both the love and fear which parents experience and supporting parents to conquer one in order to fully express the other."

Although Connie Baumgardt Blackburn announced to her parents at an early age that she would be a paleontologist when she grew up, a special teacher guided her to another goal -- Kindergarten teacher. From the special "theme" dress she puts on each day to the expertise she's cultivated in English skills, art, math and science, passion for her students and their future success in school drives Connie. She feels strongly that the attitude toward learning and social skills learned by preschool- and kindergarten-age children are so important to their educational careers that kindergarten should be mandated. Parent support is also important -- even though many of them don't speak English, Connie encourages parents to volunteer at school and assist their children at home. She is a mentor for young teachers as part of the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program. Connie strives, like her special teacher, to "engage, stimulate, encourage and inspire."

English teacher Willy DeJean thought he started teaching because he had so much to teach. He found that he "taught because he had so much to learn." Part of a college-preparatory program called Advancement Via Individual Determination, or AVID, Willy finds that many of his students from the "academic middle" are the first in their families to attempt to enter a university. Students who enroll in AVID make a four-year commitment to the program, take rigorous college preparatory classes, and attend summer school each summer. The focus in Willy's class is on collaboration, rigor and encouragement. Currently, 54% of the students at Rancho Bernardo High School meet college entrance requirements, and for Latino and African-American students, the number is even lower. In DeJean's AVID class, 100% of the students meet those requirements. He feels that "high expectations and solid support can be the catalyst for academic excellence for all students," and hopes that "someday this philosophy extends far beyond the walls of his classroom."

Kathy Dooley knew from the time she tutored a fellow fifth-grade student in arithmetic that she wanted to teach. She says now that, "It was thrilling to watch that spark of understanding light up their eyes." Kathy teaches traditional algebra, geometry and calculus courses as well as an "integrated program" which involves group "discovery investigations" of global math principles. In Kathy's math class, students present their findings to their peers via overhead displays, discuss ideas, and argue about their significance. She expects "every student to believe that he/she can learn mathematics" because she believes they can. Kathy particularly admires the students she meets at her 6.40 AM AVID class. Thirty-seven students, male and female, Latino, Iraqi, Iranian, Korean, Congolese, American Indian and Caucasian are encouraged by Kathy to take charge of their lives, to set both short and long-term goals, and to work as hard as necessary to achieve their dream of a college education. Her AVID students have earned her great respect because they work so hard and because they encourage and support each other.