Hollister
– Most teachers don’t enter the education field with hopes of
getting awards or bonuses; instead they are satisfied with the
simple reward of helping a child grow and learn.
Hollister – Most teachers don’t enter the education field with hopes of getting awards or bonuses; instead they are satisfied with the simple reward of helping a child grow and learn.
But this week, a dozen local teachers were acknowledged for their hard work and dedication.
San Benito County honored excellence in teaching at a county-wide school board meeting this week. Principals and superintendents chose 12 teachers as 2007 District Teacher of the Year recipients.
“All of us have a teacher that we can look back on that was a special person in our lives. These are the teachers that kids look back and remember,” San Benito County Office of Education Superintendent Tim Foley said.
Hollister School District chose eight recipients – one from each school – for the award.
One of those teachers, chosen by principal Christine White for her leadership at Calaveras school, was Donna Barry.
Barry, 57, has been a teacher for 24 years, with more than half of those at Calaveras, where she teaches the third grade.
In a written statement, White said she chose Barry for her positive attitude and her encouragement to the rest of the Calaveras staff to strive for improvements in their students’ test scores.
Barry’s teaching efforts have gained the notice of her principal, but her students have not been blind to her teaching abilities either.
When asked about their teacher, Barry’s students are quick to share just how much they like her.
“She’s the best third-grade teacher ever!” shouts one student, echoed by similar sentiments from several others.
“It took me about a week to brainwash them,” Barry said, smiling broadly.
“Who’s the best teacher in the world?” she asks, to which the children yell back, “You are!”
“Who’s the prettiest teacher in the world?”
“You are!”
Barry laughs, but despite her joking, she does appear to have a certain command over her students.
Donna Rider, who has taught with Barry for six years at Calaveras, said this is Barry’s superpower.
“The kids love her,” Rider said. “They bond with her and then they learn under her power – her superpower. She’s like super teacher.”
Barry said she thinks the most important part about teaching is making it enjoyable for the students. This can often prove difficult with modern education emphasizing test results and specified standards.
“Even if you’re teaching to the standards, there are still ways to do it fun,” Barry said. She said simple requirements can turn into fun lessons, giving the example of the third-grade requirement of learning to write a friendly letter. Rather than teach this as a one-day lesson, Barry gave her students pen pals in Reno, Nev., with whom they exchange letters.
“I want kids to want to come to school,” Barry said.
Alice Joy covers education for the Free Lance. She can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 336 or [email protected].
Teachers Bring Their Talents to SBC
Second-grade teacher Linda Polo, 54, has taught at Sunnyslope for more than a dozen years. Sunnyslope Principal Melinda Scott said she chose Polo for her continued work helping English Learners at the school. “She’s just done an outstanding job of meeting the needs of all of her students,” Scott said.
Amy Holland, 61, teaches second grade at Gabilan Hills. She is retiring this year after 37 years of teaching. “One of my favorite things is to see a child who has been struggling and all of a sudden that light comes on. If you see just one child do that then your year is worth it,” Holland said.
Laura Muñoz-Velasquez, a resource teacher at Ladd Lane Elementary, was chosen by her principal, Maxine Carlson, for being a leader in education. Muñoz-Velasquez said she was surprised and honored to receive the teacher of the year award. “I just thought that it was very nice to be honored like that,” Muñoz-Velasquez said. “But every teacher deserves the reward, because as teachers we reach out to students and hope that we can make a difference for them.”
Kathy Larabell teaches seventh-grade language arts at Rancho San Justo. She was chosen by her principal, Don Knapp, for the extensive hours she donates because of her commitment to education. “She’s always going beyond the classroom,” Knapp said. “We have many excellent teachers but it wasn’t hard to come up with her name.”
Rachel Flores-Zepeda currently teaches Spanish at SBHS, where she has taught many different subjects for more than 30 years. “She is such an inspiration to her students and in reaching her students,” district superintendent Stan Rose said. “She makes a point of saying: Children cannot fail in my class. I won’t let them.”
