Wednesday, February 7, 2001
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Wednesday, February 7, 2001 |
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Three finalists vie for Teacher of the Year
By CAROLYN
CARY
Balloons in their school colors and a bouquet of flowers greeted three finalists for the Fayette County Teacher of the Year last week. On the receiving end were Ellen Mitchell, Fayette Middle School, Lisa Fine, Rising Starr Middle School, and Mary Elizabeth Mendenhall, Kedron Elementary School. The balloons were accompanied by members of the Fayette County Board of Education and school Superintendent Dr. John DeCotis. This past December, each school selected its own teacher of the year. The winning teacher submitted an application to be considered for the countywide Teacher of the Year. The application covered such areas as professional biography, professional development activities, community involvement and identification of teaching techniques. Four judges, consisting of a retired administrator, a retired teacher, a community representative and last year's Fayette Teacher of the Year, reviewed the 23 applications, assigning a score to each one. The teachers receiving the three highest scores were selected to advance to the Fayette County finals. Art teacher Ellen Mitchell has been with the local school system since 1984. She did her undergraduate work at Brigham Young, graduating in 1968. A part of her application stated, "Well prepared teachers have a great impact on student achievement, are more attuned to students' needs and are better able to devise instruction to meet individual needs." Lisa Fine teaches gifted math and has been on board since 1993. She did her undergraduate work at Mercer University in middle grades education and received her master's from the University of West Georgia in middle grades math. "The value of our education system," she wrote, "is best measured by student academic achievement; as teachers we are compelled to preserve the educational institution." Teaching fifth grade math and science, Mary Elizabeth Mendenhall commented that if a child does not understand a concept, "I will work with that child through numerous avenues to enable success. My motto, 'No child will slide through the cracks,' will enable all students to show academic success." She did her undergraduate work at Auburn University, graduating in 1983. Her master's was obtained from Columbus State University in 1987, in middle grades education. A program honoring all 23 teachers of the year will be April 26 at Flat Creek Baptist Church at 7 p.m. At this time, one of the three finalists will be announced as the Fayette County Teacher of the Year. Last year's winner, Linda Brem, Fayette County High School, is competing in the statewide competition later this year.
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