Teacher of the Year 2008

This year's Teacher of the Year finalists are:

Blanche Ely High School welcomed Science teacher Mark Eyerman eleven years ago after he had taught that same subject at Crystal Lake Middle School for one year.  “I’m going to provide my students with a rigorous and relevant curriculum to stretch their imaginations and to allow them to take risks as they hone their skills in technology, engineering, science, mathematics and communication,” says Eyerman.  One project the student teams must collaborate on is to construct a balsawood bridge weighing less than one-quarter of a pound, but that will still support the weight of a football lineman.  Eyerman says,   “A great day is when a student designs something I have never seen before!”

With FCAT Science becoming a part of the school grade this year, Eyerman has monitored the mini-assessments he developed and shared these with his colleagues.  He calls on the Instructional Strategies of Willard Daggett and the International Center for Leadership to help in his classroom teaching as well as his career.  In addition, Eyerman uses The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey, to help his students with their literacy.  The honest and open conversations in class as they discuss the book apply not only to their class projects, but also to life.

Eyerman says his passion is to prepare his students for a future that can only be imagined.  He is getting his students ready to enter a world that will no longer have manufacturing jobs. Eyerman has been able over the last six years to secure seventy scholarships for his students to Florida Atlantic University. He believes that classroom teachers need to become more comfortable with allowing students to set individual goals and establish rubrics if they are to successfully navigate the future.  “My students are encouraged to take chances, to work as a team and to follow their dreams,” Eyerman says. 

After obtaining her master’s degree nine years ago, Mary Ellen Falvey returned to teaching and joined the staff of Indian Ridge Middle School.  “Teaching U. S. History to eighth graders is one of the joys of my life. My daily goal is to make sure each child feels welcomed to class and ready to learn,”  says Falvey.    One of the lessons, comparing and contrasting the story of the real Pocahontas to the Disney version, won a Broward County District Technology Award.

Since Falvey is participating in cross-curriculum activities, her students are taking part in a project incorporating their history, technology, science and language arts classes through the creation of a timeline of their lives.  They compare personal, technological, and historical events that have taken place during their lifetimes.  This project and others incorporate technology using iMovie DVD’s or videos.  Teaching History allows Falvey to incorporate literacy into her curriculum by reading the text, practicing vocabulary strategies, acting out historical scenes, interpreting pictures into written stories, creating poems from a single idea, introducing a variety of note-taking strategies and through positive encouragement and practice. 

Falvey’s motto, “do not succumb OVERCOME!” was reinforced when she overcame cancer surgery and chemotherapy.  It is through this positive belief, combined with the support from home, that each of her students aspires to be a motivated and successful learner.

When Valerie R. Harley-Gardner joined the staff of Dillard Elementary School eleven years ago, she was asked to teach all subjects to her fourth grade class.   By putting children first in all of her thoughts and deeds, Harley-Gardner has done just that. Some of her students are not used to being held accountable for learning, developing projects, reading novels, creating plays or using the computer for learning activities.  So, she encourages the students to create their own plays with props, backdrops, and costumes, and to perform for their peers in other classes. This not only shows off their talents, but it also builds confidence in their ability to create and be great at something.   They “surf the net” to develop their word processing skills and are encouraged to read, read, read.

The parents of some of Harley-Gardner’s students are uncomfortable with school personnel and their spare time is limited due to working two jobs, so she goes to them.  If the child is absent, she drops off homework assignments and finds out why that child isn’t in school.  She personally invites the parents to school events and sends postcards letting them know about their child’s progress.  She knows that all parents want what is best for their child and this simple connection has reduced absenteeism and helped with academic or behavior issues.

“Treating students with respect, showing them that you are preparing them for success in life, and that you truly care about them helps students focus on all of the academic information you want them to learn.  They will leave my classroom knowing they are powerful beyond measure and they are meant to shine,” says Harley-Gardner. 

This year, Beth K. Remaly, celebrated her 25th “first day of school” by welcoming a group of energetic, enthusiastic kindergarteners into her classroom.  In her second year on the staff of Embassy Creek Elementary School, Dr. Remaly says her goal is to provide an environment where there’s a strong sense of community, and to promote individual self-esteem.  She encourages the children to use the learning centers to experiment with language, use their imagination, and develop social skills.  Because her primary focus is to help her students become good readers, her students are exposed daily to reading aloud, poetry, shared reading and writing, and oral language activities.  Remaly says, “nothing is more rewarding than that ‘aha!’ moment when a five-year-old realizes he or she can read!”

Because students enter school with varied backgrounds and experiences, the “one size fits all” mentality can’t be assumed.  It’s imperative that the curriculum matches the student, not the student to the curriculum.  By using a variety of techniques such as multi-level, large group instruction; small group, skill-based instruction; individualized, self-paced learning; and peer assistance, Remaly does just that.

Parents are encouraged to come to the classroom and serve as tutors, mentors, and instructors.  If they are not available during the day, they volunteer in the evening preparing classroom materials or contacting other parents for needed items. Reading, writing and parent involvement are an integral part of the success of the students.  At the beginning of each school year, she waits with anticipation to share her passion for inquiry and zest for learning with the incoming kindergarten students.

Teaching twelfth-grade English at Coral Glades High School for the past two years is only a small part of Tamara L. Schoen’s education background.  Tammy, as she is affectionately known, has taught a total of fifteen years, nine of them in Broward County.  Since boredom can lead to apathy, Schoen uses her positive energy to win over her students.  They work in small groups for discussions, act out scenes from Shakespeare’s plays and are encouraged to think without fear of making mistakes.  Through these small groups, they learn to depend on each other’s expertise and to recognize their own strengths and contributions. 

Since books must compete with computer games and video clips, Schoen wants to keep her students energized.  One of the ways is a “mad scientist” day.  The children are given eggs, six straws and three feet of tape.  They have to create the most successful egg drop to win a prize.  To learn about characterization, the students select theme songs for characters and explain how/why their choice is appropriate.  They deliver speeches, draw cartoons, write songs and even dance to show a connection to the literature they are studying.

She believes in Broward County’s philosophy of mentoring and retaining the best and brightest teachers.  She has spent many hours after school helping two new teachers set- up their classrooms, work on curriculum and learn how to use the Pinnacle program.  She’s a cheerleader and motivator and is always there when needed.  She also serves as the school’s Literary Fair Coordinator, encouraging all of her peers to have students enter their best writing in the fair.  She has been able to teach students that it’s “cool” to be an intellectual.

Angela Thomas began teaching Drama at Piper High School seven years ago and looks forward every day to sharing her love of the theater with her students.  Thomas believes theater is more than a representation of life.  It is immediate and, by its nature, designed to educate and entertain.  The joy of theatre arts enlivens learning and promotes cooperation.  With a total of thirteen years teaching in Florida,  Thomas’ program has served as a model for working across the curriculum.  Incorporating English (text, script, classic works, and playwriting); math (set design and construction, sound and lighting design, costume construction); science (text, character psychology, properties, lighting, sound); and social studies (historical text, period costuming) gives all students the opportunity to learn in a manner that interests them.

The Creative and Performing Arts Festival was one of the many innovations realized through the Small Learning Communities Grant that was implemented in the school.  The two-day festival required staff, students and parents to work collaboratively over several months to construct three outdoor stages and transform the auditorium for evening performances of Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona. The stages also served to showcase spoken word poetry, student bands and singers and the step team.  The festival gave the students an enormous wealth of knowledge, opportunity, sense of ensemble, and responsibility.

Thomas says, “I hope to merely guide the students to their future choices and roles in the stages of their own lives.”

“My classroom is like a garden – I sow the seeds of knowledge, cultivate the mind and stand back and watch the children bloom.” That is the philosophy Environmental Wellness teacher Joyce Vickers has maintained at Driftwood Middle School for the past twenty-three years.  As a veteran science teacher with thirty-four years teaching experience, Vickers was selected to develop and implement a unique curriculum for Environmental Wellness.  The class affords an opportunity to focus on the social, emotional, physical and intellectual aspects of each child.  Students learn how humans affect the environment as well as how their own lives are impacted by their surroundings.  The school garden incorporates a hydroponics garden that is a delight to birds and students alike.  Students grow and taste healthy food. Their harvest is shared with needy families, and their families are invited to school to join them in a garden feast finale.  It’s a win-win!

Guest speakers have included a professor of horticulture describing a host of career choices, an explorer/researcher discussing animal and energy conservation and a beekeeper relating the significance of pollination and the impact on our food supply.  The students have been introduced to exotic and endangered animals, resulting in one student volunteering with the Vanishing Species organization.  

“Clearly a healthy child is an achieving child,” says Vickers.  “It is imperative that nutrition and physical education be implemented so that students will make healthy choices for a better quality of life,” she says.