2007 Wake County Teacher of the Year Finalists

May 10, 2007 – One of 10 finalists will be named the 2007 Wake County Teacher of the Year at a banquet on Thursday, May 17 at the Embassy Suites in Cary.

The WCPSS Teacher of the Year program is sponsored by Wachovia.

The 10 finalists were selected from 20 semi-finalists. These teachers developed portfolios with the following content: professional background; educational history; professional development activities; community involvement; philosophy of teaching; education issues and trends; and letters of support.  Ten selection committees reviewed the portfolios and narrowed the field to twenty semifinalists who were then observed in their classrooms by the selection committees.  Each selection committee chose one teacher to be among the ten finalists. 

The semi-finalists were chosen from the Teacher of the Year named by each school.

The finalists include:
Paige Elliott, Fuquay-Varina High
Stephen Elrod, Wake Forest Elementary
Katie Ewing, Sanderson High
Peggy DeBruhl, Garner High
Tracy Donohue, Powell Elementary
Kimberly Harrison, Knightdale High
Jaime Mousty, Poe Montessori Magnet School
Maria Olds, Apex Elementary
Sonia Solomon, Forestville Road Elementary
Kathy Snapp, Green Hope High

Here is more information about the 2007 Teacher of the Year finalists:

Kathy Snapp teaches math at Green Hope High School. Snapp has been teaching at Green Hope for five years and has been a teacher for 34 years. She is the Math Department chair and teaches Honors Algebra II, Algebra I and Honors Geometry. She is a professional learning community leader working with other teachers at her school to produce common pacing guides, syllabuses and assessments. She serves as a liaison between new teachers, students and parents. She serves as a mentor to two math teachers.

Snapp is a 1994 recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics. She has served as a volunteer tutor in and out of school. She is active in her church and volunteered to help the Apex High band while her son was a band member.

“My classroom in unique because my teaching style varies depending on the lesson and objectives to be taught that day,” said Snapp. “The style for each day is determined by what goals I have and what outcomes I expect from my students on a given day for a given class.”

Parent Patrick Gaynor said Snapp has taught two of his children. “She is a model educator with a drive to reach all her students,” said Gaynor. “Her dedication and energy are seen in her teaching methods. She spends time planning her lessons and activities in order to make the classroom a worthwhile experience for her students and provide real life examples and props to bring home the math learning experience.”

Maria Olds teaches first grade at Apex Elementary. Olds has been teaching for 12 years at Apex Elementary and has been a teacher for 14 years. She is grade level chair, coordinator of the school’s community fair, JobReady conference presenter, and she serves on the school leadership committee, the media/technology committee and the Accelerated Reader 100 Point Club. She has been active in her school community encouraging character education, a holiday program for elders and a cancer society fundraiser. Through mission work, she has taught in Romania for five years. Last year, she taught in Kenya and helped rebuild a house in Gulfport, Mississippi.

Olds students are known at school as the Wise Olds’ Owls. “This identify helps maintain a “family” environment so we get along with each other, respect each other, cheer each other on and celebrate our achievements,” said Olds. “Students respond to high expectations because I accept nothing less. I celebrate success no matter how great or small.”

“I have had the opportunity of observing Mrs. Olds’ extraordinary dedication to the education of her first grade students at Apex Elementary School as a parent and as a school volunteer,” said Keith Weatherly, Mayor of Apex. “She is attentive to the very different characteristics of the children in her charge as well as mindful and sympathetic to the concerns expressed by parents.”

Paige Elliott teaches English at Fuquay Varina High School. Elliott has taught her entire career of 9.5 years at Fuquay Varina High. She teaches Honors English IV, Paideia 9 and a class on Shakespeare. Elliott is a member of the WCPSS Institute for Teacher Leaders. She earned certification from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards in 2004. She supervises and mentors student teaching experiences and supervises her school’s program for supporting novice teachers. She is a professional learning communities book study facilitator. She works with the school’s business alliance. She organizes blood drives in the community in the spring and fall. She has worked with colleagues to develop a young writers camp to be offered this year.

“With each lesson each day, I strive to make our experiences significant to students’ lives,” said Elliott. “They often feel overwhelmed or desensitized by the material and their efforts. So often a student doesn’t comprehend how the decisions and actions they make today affect tomorrow. Analogies and discussion are how I make the results and consequences apparent to them.”

Fuquay Varina principal Edward McFarland says Elliott presents lessons that are both fun and educational. “”From day to day, I never know what I may see happening in her classroom,” said McFarland. “One day I may walk in and the students will be dressed in Shakespearian character to perform one act plays or the students may be engaged in fierce debate during a Paideia seminar. She certainly has a strong understanding of the English curriculum and is able to teach effectively because of her thorough knowledge.”

Katie Ewing teaches biology at Sanderson High School. Ewing has been at Sanderson for six years and has been teaching for seven years. Ewing is Science Department chair, a leadership team member and mentor. She has trained teachers on reading and writing across the curriculum and worked to start professional learning communities at her school. She has worked as an assistant athletic trainer, class council advisor, stadium manager, Saturday school teacher, summer school teacher and a ninth grade academy teacher. She has worked with Warmth for Wake, delivering firewood to keep families warm in the winter and organized through her church a monthly breakfast for homeless women.

“I believe through inquiry learning all students will succeed,” said Ewing. “Problem solving is a fact of life and through inquiry about a problem, I am able to facilitate students to comprehend and analyze critical thinking skills. Giving students the freedom to develop an experiment based on something they want to learn more about engages and motivates the students to learn, and knowledge is attained.”

“Mrs. Ewing is an exemplary teacher who cares for students and who works unceasingly to challenge and support them,” said Cathy Moore, Sanderson’s principal. “She establishes a caring atmosphere with high standards in the classroom for her students and within her department in her role as the science department chair.”

Dr. Stephen Elrod is a third grade teacher at Wake Forest Elementary School. Dr. Elrod has been teaching for 30 years, and has been at Wake Forest for one year. Before arriving in Wake County, Elrod served as an assistant superintendent, principal and third-grade teacher with Georgia schools. He started teaching in 1976 and won Teacher of the Year honors twice in the 1980s. In 2001, he was the Distinguished Georgia Principal in District 8.  He has continued a long career of being active in church and community in Wake Forest.

“The challenges in teaching are many, but include closing the achievement gap between diverse groups, bridging the gap that exists between school and the real world and helping students build a bridge from reality to their vision of the future,” said Elrod. “Educators must hold close to their heart core values of compassion, truth, fairness and be morally committed to what is right and wrong.”

“Dr. Elrod’s compassion for all is contagious to all that encounter him,” said Denise Tillery, the Wake Forest Elementary principal. “In the past two years, he has successfully created a positive learning environment for a child with Downs Syndrome and a brilliant child with autism. These children were not just in his class, but were vital members of the class community.”

Sonia Solomon is the English as a Second Language teacher at Forestville Road Elementary. Solomon has been teaching for 11 years and the last three years at Forestville Road Elementary. She earned certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in 2006. She was a contributing author to the WCPSS New ESL Teacher Survival Guide. She served on the NC Department of Public Instruction IPT Standard Setting Committee. She has presented to NC State University's ESL Symposium,
the NC Closing the Achievement Gap Conference, and most recently,
the NC Reading Association Conference. She has been active in her church where she is a Sunday School teacher.

“Students learn a lot from their peers,” said Solomon. “Activities range from reciting poems and songs, to reading stories and doing cut-up sentences. We work with manipulatives when making words and play “word wall toss” with large shower curtain. When students do not give their best effort, I nudge them as a mother eagle would her babies.”

“Having observed her classes on several occasions, I can say without hesitation that her classes are engaging, yet challenging,” said Marion Perkins, ESL coordinating teacher. “I have been impressed with the degree of student involvement from novice learners to more advanced students. Students easily relate her lessons to their past experiences and current lives, a “must” for second language learners.”

Kimberly Harrison is a business education teacher at Knightdale High School. Harrison has been teaching for 11 years, the last three at Knightdale High. She is a mentor to two lateral entry teachers and supervises a student teacher. In the past, she has been a mentor to novice teachers, student teachers and lateral entry teachers. She was the 2003 Advisor of the Year for the NC Future Business Leaders of America. She has worked with FBLA students to spearhead the school’s Katrina relief efforts, collected food for families at Thanksgiving and collected goods for the Interact program, which aids domestic violence victims.

“My students know I am here for them from day one,” said Harrison. “I let them know that there is greatness in them and it is my professional responsibility to get the best out of them. I consider myself to be a merchant of hope and that is my duty each day that I step onto the school grounds – whether in the classroom or the cafeteria – to bring hope to our future.”

“Kimberly Harrison has played a major role in shaping me into the strong, confident and professional individual that I am today,” said Andrea Broadhurst, one of her former students. “Her dedication as an advisor of Future Business Leaders of America has helped hundreds of students to reach their full potential and accomplish feats that they never thought were possible. I entered Ms. Harrison’s classroom as a shy, introverted young girl and I left a traveled, confident, young woman with a renewed outlook on what I could accomplish in life.” Broadhurst is a first year associate with Ernst and Young, LLP.

Tracy Donohue is a third grade teacher at Powell Elementary School. Donohue has been teaching for four years, all at Powell Elementary. She is grade level chair, a member of the school’s student support team, a member of the school improvement team and has been a Wake County Math Teacher Leader for two years. With a grant the school obtained for students who otherwise would have been unable to attend, she was able to take children to theatre productions for children. She also attends her students’ games and performances outside of school.

Donohue said her students need to see their teacher being a learner. “I talk about graduate school with them a lot,” she said. “I discuss with them the importance of me doing my work and treating my professors with respect. I also model being a motivated reader.”

Powell Elementary principal Jimmy Sposato said Donohue has the gift of teaching. “She engages the children in explicit, focused and differentiated instruction that is both engaging and challenging,” said Sposato. “Tracy’s ability to question is what sets her apart. She subtly challenges the kids to think deeper and on higher levels.”

Peggy DeBruhl is a graphics teacher at Garner High School. DeBruhl has been teaching for 22 years, the last six at Garner High. DeBruhl is a Career Technical Education Department chair and teacher, a community school site coordinator, yearbook advisor, mentor for novice teachers and a member of the school’s technology advisory committee and graduation/scholarship committee. She is active in her church and has volunteered in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk and the Relay for Life for Cancer Research.

DeBruhl said her classroom is a place where students can create and design and work in a hands-on environment. “My classroom is a place where students feel comfortable and feel they can accomplish something,” said DeBruhl. “They can be creative and actually see the fruits of their labor. It connects them to the real world. We design and print publications, business cards, posters and other materials needed by the school and community, as well as their own personal projects.”

“Peggy is without a doubt, one of the most professional and loyal teachers I have ever worked with,” said Michael Holton, principal of Garner High. “Her dedication to the school, ability to build positive relationships with coworkers, students and community, and the pride she takes in doing quality work, are all attributes that set her apart.”

Jaime Mousty teaches students in first through third grades Poe Montessori School. Mousty has been a teacher for four years, three and a half years at Poe Elementary. She teaches a multi-age class consisting of students in the first, second and third grades. She is grade level chair for lower elementary and a member of the school’s leadership committee and student support team. She is in the Wake County Institute of Teacher Leaders. She is active in her church, tutors students and supports the Latin American Resource Center, which provides after school instruction and guidance to Hispanic families.

Mousty said the lessons and work need to be modified to support student achievement. “In my classroom, I am continuously changing my methods of teaching depending on the child I am teaching to,” said Mousty. “For example, a child who is struggling with sight words and enjoys music will be given sight word songs to sing. A child who enjoys movement would play a sight word game where they have to jump on a word card. Children are given work that is created to fit their need.”

Ms. Mousty is one of the best teachers that I have worked with,” said Sallie Reynolds, principal of Poe Elementary. “She is academically competent, dedicated to her students, accessible to parents, a sharing member of her grade level team, and a positive example for us all.”

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