Wednesday, January 31, 2001
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Wednesday, January 31, 2001 |
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Finalists selected for Fayette Teacher of the Year Three Fayette County teachers will be surprised today with balloons and flowers and a formal announcement of their selection as finalists for the 2001 Teacher of the Year. School administrators and elected officials will deliver the congratulatory message in a celebratory van. Until then, the identity of the winners has been kept secret. In fact only two people in the entire school system know the names of the winners Terri Gaspierik, coordinator of the Teacher of the Year program, and Superintendent Dr. John DeCotis. In December, each school selected its own Teacher of the Year. Winning teachers from each school submitted an application to be considered for the countywide Teacher of the Year award. The application covered areas such as professional biography, professional development activities, community involvement, philosophy of teaching, perception of education issues and trends, and identification of teaching techniques and methods that can be used to strengthen the teaching profession. Four judges, consisting of a retired administrator, retired teacher, community representative and last year's Fayette Teacher of the Year, looked at all of the applications Jan. 23 and rated each category above. A maximum number of points was assigned to each area with the highest possible score totaling 100 points for the entire application. The teachers who received the three highest scores were selected to advance to the Teacher of the Year finals. In March, the judges will return to observe the teachers in their classrooms as well as interview each teacher. Both the observation and interview will be taped. The judges will use this information to select the teacher that will be named Teacher of the Year for Fayette County. The winner will be announced April 26 at the Teacher of the Year celebration, at Flat Creek Baptist Church from 7-9 p.m. The theme for this year's celebration is "saluting Fayette's finest." The county winner will go on to compete in the statewide competition in 2002. Last year's winner, Linda Brem from Fayette County High School, is competing in the statewide competition this year. Judges based their selection of finalists on the following qualities:] Acts as an ambassador for public education and Fayette County. Keeps students on task. Treats all students equally. Provides physical environment conducive to learning. Demonstrates command of subject. Stimulates students' interest. Shows warmth and friendliness. Manages classroom effectively. Participates in professional development. Gets involved in total school program. FReflects personal beliefs and feelings about teaching in the classroom.
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