Teachers of year honored

tofyear062: 2006 Teacher of the Year
Kern County Teachers of the Year (l to r) Karen Reyes (alternate), Anthony Goss and Whitney Weddell.
One works with special needs students, the other with at-risk students. Anthony Goss works for the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Whitney Weddell for Nueva Continuation High School. They are two teachers dedicated to quality education. But they are more. Goss and Weddell were honored as the cream of the crop of their chosen profession -- selected as the 2006-07 Kern County Teachers of Year during a reception ceremony at the Kern County Museum on May 16.

Another deserving educator, Karen Reyes, a kindergarten teacher at Princeton Street School in Delano was named alternate. Goss and Weddell will now represent the county in the California Teacher of the Year competition. The California Department of Education (CDE) sponsors the annual California Teacher of the Year program.

The three were among 34 county teachers who had been nominated for the honor by their schools and districts. A committee of educators and volunteers reviewed all the applications. Site visits were made to the top candidates during the first week of May. All 34 nominees received certificates.

Goss teaches a special day class for 4th-8th grade students with moderate to severe disabilities at Rio-Bravo Greeley School. He has been working with special needs children for more than 17 years. Goss began his teaching career as a music therapist in a developmental center and continues to use music as a teaching tool today. He knows his role is to teach and to enrich the lives of the students. Goss applies music along with technology to his lessons to address the academic needs of his students. Entering Goss' class, you see students filled with joy, laughter and a strong desire to learn and grow. He calls teaching special needs students "magical." What inspires him is the knowledge that he has the power, as a teacher, to make a difference in each child's life.

"This is great because it challenges us all to keep the quality in education," Goss said. "Using music is fun and rewarding for my students. Right off the bat it gets them excited because music has patterns of rhythm that are important to language and learning. It really does help reinforce academic lessons."

Weddell, who has been teaching for 17 years, instructs 9th-12th grade students in government, economics, English and health parenting. She sees teaching as a "24-7-365" job and in her off-time dreams up new and exciting lessons -- developing plans, considering what worked and what did not. She teaches kids to like learning and says she is amazed most days that she gets paid to teach. Weddell's students often balance being single moms, babysitting and working two jobs while maintaining a B average in school. She sees the "seeds of greatness" in her students who can repair computers, design complex graphics and send cell phone text messages without looking at a keypad.

"When I see all the wonderful teachers nominated for this honor and all the years of experience and talent they have, it's just overwhelming to be selected," Weddell said. "My students are concerned with the popular culture of their generation. I incorporate that into my lesson plans. For instance, I show how the Federal Reserve Bank and Edgar Allen Poe are both important in their lives. We must take the federal government No Child Left Behind program seriously. Continuing education is what we use to save students from being left behind. I let them find the good in themselves and to help them determine how they will write their life story."

Reyes, the Alternate Teacher or the Year, began her teaching career 18 years ago, as an instructional aide. She holds a Multiple Subject teaching credential. Reyes provides kindergarten students a balance between strong academics, readying them for the rigors of first grade, and a nurturing environment, to make them good citizens at school and in society. She loves watching her students' excitement and their eyes light up with understanding. Reyes wants her students to be special by being unique. The sights of children playing, lining up or working on a project inspire her with the sounds of their voices and laughter as they learn and play together. As a kindergarten teacher, Reyes knows she needs to incite a love of learning that will last a lifetime.

Goss was among a trio of well-qualified Kern County Superintendent of Schools' teachers nominated for the award. The others were Jolene Berg, teacher of deaf and hard of hearing at Actis Junior High and Molly Mier, alternative education teacher at the Blanton Center West.

The intent of the CDE Teacher of the Year program is to:

  • Identify and honor outstanding teachers throughout California
  • Select five teachers to serve as California Teachers of the Year for 2006-07 who will represent the state's teachers and stand for positive contributions of the teaching profession
  • Focus public attention on the positive accomplishments of California teachers and students
  • Identify one teacher for competition in the National Teacher of the Year Program

The reception also provided a forum to recognize three Kern County teachers for achieving National Board Certification: Pat Abbasi -- Liberty High, Kathleen Cone -- Pioneer Drive School, and James Trzaska -- Delano High School.

2006-07 Kern County Teachers of the Year Nominees

Kenneth Anderson -- Taft Union High (Taft)
Shelly Barton -- Orangewood Elementary
Jolene Berg -- Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Actis Jr. High
Linda Brown -- Liberty High
Lynne Budy -- Mt. View Middle (Lamont)
Alfred Carter -- McFarland Middle (McFarland)
Julie Detloff -- Ridgeview High
Margaret Goings -- Thompson Jr. High
Anthony Goss -- Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Rio Bravo-Greeley
Kristie Grubb -- Bailey Avenue Elementary (Muroc School District)
Kelly D. Hammett -- Standard Elementary
Kimberly Herndon -- Warren Jr. High
Denise Hill -- Eissler
Brian Holle -- Edison Middle
Tracy Hubbell -- Semitropic School
Ken Krafthefer-- Bakersfield High
Brent McClanahan -- South High
Karen Manatt -- (SELPA Program Specialist) Sierra Sands Unified School District
Jorge Mendoza -- Fremont
Molly Mier -- Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Community School
Dorothy Morey -- Foothill High
Alex Morales -- Wasco High
Karen Reyes -- Princeton Street School (Delano)
Rodrigo Sandoval --Palm Avenue (Wasco)
Linda J. Skidmore -- Buttonwillow Elementary
Hana Suleiman -- Kendrick
Tracy L. Taylor -- Voorhies
Georgette Theotig -- Cummings Valley Elementary (Tehachapi)
Gloria A. Vaughn -- Mojave Elementary (Mojave)
Whitney L. Weddell -- Nueva Continuation School
Sandra Welch -- Greenfield Middle
Kim Wiens -- Actis Jr. High
Claranne Wingender -- Wallace Elementary (Kernville)
Shannon Zimmerman -- Pond (Pond)


Print This Page   Email This Page