Teacher of Year ceremony is education celebration

(Published Sunday, Feb. 24, 2008 in Examiner-Enterprise)

It's an event which is always highly anticipated.

The Bartlesville Public School District's 2008 Teacher of the Year ceremony is scheduled to unfold on Tuesday evening in the Fine Arts Center auditorium on the Bartlesville High School campus. It will be preceded by a short reception, due to begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Center lobby, before the ceremony gets started at 6 p.m.

We always look forward to our annual Teacher of the Year reception because it provides us with a great opportunity to salute our top instructor for a particular time period while also thinking about all of the great educators who offer their passion and abilities on an ongoing basis throughout the district.

I would like to personally invite everyone to attend Tuesday's event. During the ceremony, the site Teachers of the Year from all 12 of the schools which comprise the BPSD will be recognized while the eventual winner will be named and honored. This year's distinguished group of candidates includes Karen “Casey” Williams (kindergarten teacher, Will Rogers Early Childhood Center) , Lauri Pollock (physical education teacher, Hoover Elementary School), Stephanie Harris (special education instructor, Jane Phillips Elementary School), Stacy Gerth (fourth grade teacher, Oak Park Elementary School), Reita Adams (art teacher, Ranch Heights Elementary School), Nancy Nagele (special education instructor, Richard Kane Elementary School), Nancy Farmer (third grade teacher, Wayside Elementary School), Shelly White (fourth grade teacher, Woodrow Wilson Elementary School), Jan Brieschke (art instructor, Central Middle School), Julie Giovannetti (art instructor, Madison Middle School), Terri Bryan (science teacher, Bartlesville Mid-High School) and Granger Meador (science teacher, Bartlesville High School).

All 12 teachers offer their own unique talents and skill sets which make them special and worthy of Teacher of the Year status. Williams has maintained a passion for teaching since she was a child and is a certified Parenting with Love and Logic facilitator outside of the regular classroom environment. Now in her 28 th year as a P.E. teacher, Pollock has been the district department head for elementary physical education since 1999. Harris achieved National Board Certified Teacher status two years ago and recently earned her Oklahoma State Master Teacher accreditation. Gerth is the current chairperson of the Family Support Committee and is the secretary of the Bartlesville Education Association.

Adams utilizes an integrated art curriculum which incorporates social studies and other subjects into her classes, offering a wide range of learning opportunities for her students at Ranch Heights . Nagele is a member of the Council for Exceptional Children and has degrees in specific learning disabilities as well as special education from Oklahoma State University . Though now a fourth grade teacher, Farmer has an extensive background in special education and recently earned her National Board Certified Teacher status. Like Harris and Farmer, White is a National Board Certified Teacher. She is a tremendous asset at Wilson with her background in educational technology.

A talented artist who shares her passion and insight with her students, Brieschke once had the honor of presenting one of her drawings to former President George H.W. Bush. Giovannetti isn't just a teacher to her Madison students, she's a friend and a role model. She will soon begin work toward becoming a National Board Certified Teacher. A decorated science teacher, Bryan helped to pioneer the Mid-High's first ninth-grade “Pilot Team,” which seeks to ease the transition of incoming freshmen who are making the jump from middle school. The district science chair for grades six through 12, Meador published an entire physics curriculum – “Inquiry Physics: A Modified Learning Cycle Curriculum” – which is currently being used by teachers in 18 different states.

This year's group of site Teachers of the Year – from which the district winner will be pulled – is indeed a special one. And the 2008 Teacher of the Year ceremony will be quite special as well. Our 2007 Teacher of the Year, Jane Phillips kindergarten instructor Jennie Butterfield, will be on hand to announce this year's winner. Entertainment will be provided by the Jazz Choir as well as the Wilson Select Choir. Ron Smith, the Bruins varsity football head coach, will serve as the master of ceremonies.

State Sen. John Ford, State Rep. Earl Sears and State Rep. Steve Martin will help us recognize Hoover and Jane Phillips after both schools were recognized by the Oklahoma State Department of Education with prestigious Academic Achievement Awards. Hans Schmoldt, Jr. will deliver the 2008 Kurt Schmoldt Teacher Appreciation Award while Thad Satterfield, the secretary and treasurer for the Schmoldt Foundation for Education, will help us recognize the 2008 Teacher of the Year winner.