The District is proud to announce the finalists for the Teacher of the Year 2004.

They are:

Susan Allen from Deerfield Beach Elementary School (first-grade)
Ms. Allen has been a teacher for 21 years, the last nine of which have been teaching elementary education at Deerfield Beach Elementary. She helps her students through "discovery learning," which incorporates hands-on, real life experiences. Ms. Allen believes it is vital to tap into her students' innate curiosity and she uses topics that interest them. Teaching first-graders, Ms. Allen knows she has the unique privilege of molding young minds for the future. "One of my goals is to develop a high level of responsibility and independence," she said. "I try to model these through the character traits of dignity, respect and caring."

Donna M. Cardwell from Pines Middle School (seventh-grade Language Arts)
For the last seven years, Ms. Cardwell has taught Language Arts to seventh-graders at Pines Middle School. And in her 25 years as an educator, she has learned a few things along the way. "Students are knowledgeable before they come to us," she said. "I've found [students] take ownership when they are given choices and empowered with the responsibility for their own learning." But it isn't only students Ms. Cardwell teaches – she also provides instruction and guidance to her colleagues. Every summer, she spends four weeks mentoring 15 teachers and imparts best practices for them to use in their classrooms. "For any teacher, the greatest satisfaction is being able to share a subject about which they are passionate," she said. For Ms. Cardwell, that passion is shared with both her students and her fellow teachers.

Rebecca Ann Colgate from Plantation Middle School (eighth-grade Science)
Ms. Colgate's number one concern is making sure her students love to learn. "I tend to judge my effectiveness as a teacher less by my students' grades – although they are important – but more by the signs that they are beginning to love learning," she said. Ms. Colgate believes learning is most enjoyable for students when teaching is "tempered with humor and love." She has been teaching for 15 years, the last two at Plantation Middle. In her decade and a half in front of students, she has come to realize that the classroom is where students receive a teacher's message, their counsel and their guidance.

Deborah Etling from Hallandale Adult Community Center (Pre-K Teen Parent Program)
Ms. Etling works with a unique group of Broward students – pre-k students of teen parents. And because of her special group of students, she knows she has an added responsibility because two young lives are counting on her. In the six years she's been at Hallandale Adult Community Center, Ms. Etling learned that reading is the foundation for her class. "I have taken the concept of reading across the curriculum to a new and exciting level," she said. "Our at-risk teen parents often don't read themselves, and therefore read infrequently to their children. I created an intergenerational reading team that reads daily to every child and teen parent in my care." Through her approach, Ms. Etling is helping two generations master their reading skills.

Celeste M. Everett from Country Hills Elementary (second and third grade)
For Ms. Everett, it's all about family. "I strive to create a sense of family within my classroom," she said. "My students become a community of learners who develop responsibility for their own learning." And throughout her 21-year teaching career, Ms. Everett has learned to instill the value of how to learn as much as what to learn. She encourages her students to take risks without a fear of failure and pushes them to strive for excellence. Visit her classroom and you'll see colorful student-work covering the walls and hanging from the ceiling. It's quickly evident that her room is an inviting place to learn and it isn't uncommon to hear one of her students say they "want to come to school" because of her class. For her and her students, the bell at the end of the day comes too soon.

Gloria S. McIntosh from South Broward High School (9-12 Science)
Ms. McIntosh has been in the classroom for a quarter century, all but 2 years of which have been spent at South Broward High in Hollywood. In that time, Ms. McIntosh has discovered that her students want to know why they are learning what they're learning. "They must know the relevance of what they are learning to the real world," she said. Ms. McIntosh believes that teaching allows students to learn how to learn and maneuver in today's demanding world. And she's all about reaching her students. "My greatest pleasures in teaching come from my students' gains," she said. "When I hear from former students who credit my encouragement and persistence as their motivation, I feel successful." In her 25 years, Ms. McIntosh has learned teachers need to adapt to the changing times and the changing students. She knows she needs to be flexible and willing to change her teaching style to best suit the learning styles of her students.

Mary Singletary from Dillard High School (11th-grade social studies)
Make history come alive! That is the mantra Ms. Singletary has used in her 25 years as a teacher. "I feel history does not have to be boring and that all students are capable of achieving at the highest level," she said. Ms. Singletary knows her students need to be challenged and it's her responsibility to provide that challenge by creating stimulating, thought-provoking lessons. She does this by having various activities for her students, including writing and acting out skits and songs, creative writing (including Constitutions for Dillard High and pre-Revolutionary War poetry) and class presentations. While she makes her classes fun, there's a non-nonsense approach as well. Her students know that excuses are not accepted in her class and they must maintain the proper classroom decorum at all times.