Alicia McBride Savors Latest Honor: Finalist for State Teacher of the Year

Alicia McBride didn’t know she was a finalist for California Teacher of the Year until a week ago Monday—well after her class was visited by state officials in October.

But even though the La Mesa resident wasn’t named one of the five Teachers of the Year, she’s still excited about her journey since being named a county Teacher of the Year six weeks ago.

“As a California finalist, I will be taking two trips to Sacramento,” she said last week.  “In December, I will be participating in a collaboration workshop with this year’s finalists as well as previous Teachers of the Year for California.”

In February comes a gala where the 12 state finalists will be recognized, she said.

Among the five San Diego County Teachers of the Year, only McBride and Mark Burroughs of San Pasqual Union School made it to the state finals.

“Being recognized as a California state finalist is absolutely amazing,” said McBride, who teaches at Reflections in La Mesa, a county Probation Department-run school for juvenile offenders under the county Office of Education.

She noted that California has about 430,000 public and private school educators.

“To be recognized [in] the top 10 or 12 teachers in California validates everything I do for my students,” she said.

“There are so many dedicated teachers, and I am able to represent them as professionals, as advocates, and as human beings making a difference in the lives of our children.”

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson last week announced California’s five 2012 Teachers of the Year.

“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,” Torlakson said.

“Like all teachers in California, they are struggling with budget challenges and cutbacks in programs. That is what makes them even more extraordinary; I appreciate their determination to overcome obstacles while ensuring their students are learning—no matter what.”

The 2012 California Teachers of the Year:

• Rebecca Mieliwocki teaches English to seventh-graders at Luther Burbank Middle School in the Burbank Unified School District (Los Angeles County). Mieliwocki also was selected by Torlakson to serve as the state's representative to the National Teacher of the Year program.
• Florence Avognon teaches English and is part of the Reading Intervention Specialists Teachers program, Central Juvenile Hall, Los Angeles County Office of Education (Los Angeles County). (Due to budget cuts, Avognon was transferred in September to another court school, The Phoenix Academy, a residential treatment program for adolescent substance abusers, where she continues to teach high school.)
• Tom Collett teaches science to eighth-graders at Newark Junior High School in the Newark Unified School District (Alameda County).
• Shari Ann Herout teaches kindergarten and provides Responsiveness to Intervention services at Foxboro Elementary School in the Travis Unified School District (Solano County).
• Ken LaVigne teaches English at La Serna High School in the Whittier Union High School District (Los Angeles County).

The California Teachers of the Year program began in 1972 to acknowledge the growing complexity of challenges faced by the profession and the need to promote collaboration among teachers to address challenges. The program also encourages new teachers to enter the field.

The competition is open to teachers of prekindergarten through grade 12.

County offices of education nominate winners through their regional Teachers of the Year competitions. A state selection committee reviews candidates' applications and conducts site visits to evaluate the teachers' rapport with students, classroom environment, presentation skills, and teaching methods, among other criteria. The teachers are interviewed at the California Department of Education in Sacramento.

The state superintendent then selects the five awardees.
 
Besides McBride, the 2012 California Teachers of the Year Finalists were:

• Robert Brewer teaches physics to 11th- and 12th-graders at Florin High School in the Elk Grove Unified School District (Sacramento County).
• Mark Burroughs teaches a fourth/fifth grade combination class at San Pasqual Union School in the San Pasqual Union School District (San Diego County).
• Nicoline Chambers teaches science, biology/astrobio to ninth- through 12-graders at West High School in the Torrance Unified School District (Los Angeles County).
• Nicole Naditz teaches French to ninth- through 12th-graders at Bella Vista High School in the San Juan Unified School District (Sacramento County).
• Elaine Rosenfield teaches second grade at Bishop’s Peak Elementary School in the San Luis Coastal Unified School District (San Luis Obispo County).
• Peggy Walker teaches AP Social Science to ninth through 12th-graders at Newbury Park High School in the Conejo Valley Unified School District (Ventura County).

For more information on the California Teachers of the Year program, visit cde.ca.gov/ta/sr/ct/index.asp.

A California Department of Education news release contributed to this report.