2006 Outstanding First-Year Teacher Award

The California Association for Employment in Education (CAEE) recently recognized two outstanding first-year teachers in California for their unique and creative contributions to the education profession. The recipients each received a $500 cash award.

Criteria for the awards included: special accomplishments, unique and creative contributions, highlights of instructional skills, interaction with students, parents and peers, and innovative programs and projects which distinguished the nominees from other first-year teachers.

CAEE links colleges, universities, school systems, students and education professionals to encourage employment in the field of education. CAEE membership consists of school district hiring personnel along with college and university education placement professionals.

The Award Winner:

Athenia Hetherington

Porterville Unified School District

Maintaining a highly respectful learning environment is far from the old adage of “being killed with kindness”. For intermediate grade students in Athenia Hetherington’s physical education classes, respect is the class norm. Her assignment is part of a roving 4th, 5th, and 6th grade specialized P.E. team that each serve 3 elementary schools. At each school, students have three 45 minute P.E. classes per week. Athenia Hetherington adds creative enhancements to highly effective instructional practices, has outstanding interaction with students, parents and peers, management, creative learning activities, and student buy-in to becoming more healthy are instructional element for each student which are modeled by this outstanding first year teacher.

As a first year teacher, Athenia brought with her a positive student centered attitude that immediately gains the respect of each student. She is highly effective in content teaching and classroom management through use of positive commands such as “thank you to team 3 for being ready to learn first” or “keep your team accountable”. She peppers the warm up drills with phrases like “line 1 is looking awesome, so does line 3”. Quickly, line 2 conforms and seeks the praise also, while doing their drills. One school vice principal cited an example of Athenia’s positive skills. “Today, when you were interacting with a frequently problematic fourth grader, you let him know you cared by asking if he was having a bad day. Afterwards, you coached him into making it different for himself and his team. Thanks for respecting even the disrespectful students.” When students are having difficulty, even with the positive and personal direction, this teacher will either make a personal call or visit to the parent.

As a physical education teacher, Athenia actively teaches all aspects of physical education. She has be especially effective infusing nutrition education with physical activity. She has designed a series of lessons that are supportive of our district’s direction to include nutrition education in P.E. classes as part of a commitment to the Nutrition Network program. Both aerobic activity and health content standards are integrated in many activities through Mrs. Hetherington’s creative planning. With average class sizes of 45, tasks for student learning must be carefully engineered by Mrs. Hetherington to insure all students are participating and being provided access to learning. Innovative unit themes are used to excite students to participate and at the same time build skills. One such theme was “PE Boot Camp”. In a unit that was designed to improve cardiovascular ability, students were using pedometers and learned to measure heart rate and pulse as part of the learning stations set up by the instructor. The inclusion of technology used in fitness into the activity was motivational for students. The unit also included as assessment sheet for students to do at one station that included self-analysis: “What station gave you the most trouble?” “What kind of activities are you going to do this weekend to prepare for the fitness tests?” Inclusion of language development via “Muscle Word Bank” where anatomy vocabulary including “Hamstrings and Quadriceps” had to be matched to the station (Sit-Up, Lap run) where these various muscles were used. Written evaluation and reflection is a concise segment of each unit Athenia creates.

During another observation, student teams were challenged to relays that included having to select a laminated picture of a food item, then race to the end of the competition area and correctly place the picture into a caulked circle on the cement that included segments for each food group. Student teams collaborated making the food group decisions before the runner proceeded to the selection point. These collaborative group learning experiences kept all students involved. Everyone learned and participated in physical activity while engaging in nutrition education.

On another day of the integrated physical activity and nutrition lesson, her BTSA Support Provider observed a creative lesson. “I observed a very interactive and innovative lesson where students performed ‘The Food Pyramid Challenge.’ Laminated food labels and empty containers from a variety of foods were placed in bags inside car tires (brought to class by the teacher) which were tied to ropes. While being timed, teams of students had to pull the tire (large muscle activity), open the bags, categorize the food items into groups and then relay them one at a time into a giant chalk pyramid that was drawn on the blacktop. The teams with the fastest time and the most food items in the correct place on the pyramid won healthy snacks. All students, special needs learners, ELL students, and accomplished junior athletes fully participated in the activities. It was incredible to see fifth and sixth grade kids being physically active, competitive, and using their cognitive and psychomotor skills at the same time.”

At the end of each class, students are directed return equipment to storage. “I want to thank you for making sure all of the equipment is placed in the proper area, and a special thanks to those who will be taking special care to take it to the storage area.” With this winning attitude and encouragement it is small wonder that this first year teacher rarely uses administrative referrals as a discipline technique.

Time passes quickly for each student in Mrs. Hetherington’s class while students are having fun in a challenging learning physical education class. As a first year teacher, Athenia has learned the secret of creating a variety of learning activities within the class period. During a soccer unit in the standard 45 minute class period, the lesson plan called for 1 minute for students to move to the learning stations, 3 minutes to listen and observe the teachers directions and modeling activity followed by 5 minutes of conditioning drills designed to put an “emphasize hustle, not a race” which allowed all students to be winners. These varied warm ups were followed by two 15 minute activities, “Pass and Go” and “Pass, Shoot, and Score”. The final moments of this class were devoted to a 5 minute Assessment this time matching soccer skills (dribbling, passing, and teamwork) to the player positions (a passer, a shooter, and a goal keeper). One can easily observe student success being encouraged with little time to become bored or be off task in her classes.

As a professional, Athenia Hetherington devotes time to continual learning and staff development. Having been an active member of California Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance while a student at Fresno Pacific University, Athenia continued participation as a member and conference delegate as a first year teacher. She is well respected by peers and equally participates in team decisions and training.

Athenia’s outstanding skills and ability as a first year teacher have not gone unnoticed. She has been recruited by the principal of a new middle school to head the Physical Education Department when it opens this fall. This selection validates my belief about her exceptional skills above and beyond those of more veteran teachers.
Athenia Hetherington is an exceptional first year teacher!

Adam Gelb

Eleanor Murray Fallon School
Dublin Unified School District

It is my pleasure to write this letter of nomination for Adam Gelb, first-year teacher at Eleanor Murray Fallon School, for the CAEE “Outstanding First Year Teacher” Award.

Fallon School is a brand new school with twenty-four new teachers who have provided a quality educational program at all levels. In determining who we would consider for our nominee, it was a unanimous decision from all staff that the person should be Mr. Adam Gelb, our first year fourth grade teacher.

Why Mr. Gelb as our nominee? It is a combination of his outstanding instructional skills, interaction with students, parents and peers and development of new innovative programs and projects introduced that have enriched the academic and affective environment of Fallon School and most importantly the essence of who he is, as a role model for all students.

First of all allow me to introduce the essence of Mr. Gelb. The difference between other teachers and Mr. Gelb is, he is the gifted artist who creates beautiful results with his students. He is to teaching as Michelangelo is to art. He is the profile of the ideal teacher for any child. He is a teacher who truly reaches in and draws out the gifts of any child fortunate enough to cross his path. Mr. Gelb truly believes and lives by the thought of “every child succeeding”. In his mind, every class he teaches if full of gifted youngsters. His students rise to their level of giftedness. How does he accomplish this monumental task? He does this through his outstanding teaching and organizational stills, his commitment and dedication to the profession of teaching and most importantly through his love and care for his students. Reaching every child’s gift and drawing it out takes a special individual with outstanding skills. The teaching strategies he utilizes are creative. Part of the evaluation I have used to determine the effectiveness of a teacher is to ask the students how they feel about their teacher. The following quotes from his students are examples of how he has touched their lives. “You made fourth grade fun for me.” “I learned how to learn.” “Thank you for caring about me.” “My favorite thing about school that I enjoyed was having you as a teacher.” This school year has been great!” These quotes are the essence of what every child shared. Their words are testimony to him, as an outstanding teacher and caring individual. Mr. Gelb represents the very best of the teaching profession. If I was to choose any teacher to send out to the world to represent education, he would be the individual to select. In action, thoughts and words, he represents the ideal ambassador of education.

Both eager to learn and dedicated to the quest of continuous improvement, he has become the leader in the areas of literacy and technology integration in all curricular areas. Dublin Unified School District is in the forefront of professional development in literacy development and strategies by establishing a training ground through our California Center for Literacy Development (CCLD). The district host many educators from across the nation to come and receive training and observe model lab teachers to assist in their training. For the 2006-2007 school year, Mr. Gelb has been selected to be the model lab teacher for this program. This is due to his outstanding skills in effectively infusing literacy with technology in the English, Math, Science and Social Science curriculum.

Mr. Gelb’s fourth grade classroom represents a mini United Nation. It’s composition of ethnic diversity range from Asians, East Asians, Middle East, African Americans, Latinos, and with the minority group being Caucasians. Mr. Gelb has done an outstanding job in including in his environment, curriculum and strategies the differing ethnic needs as well as the ability needs and learning styles of his students. His room is visually fused with his student’s backgrounds as well as his which happens to be Filipino, Japanese, and German with a splash of Polynesian. His room reflects pictures of how his students have integrated themselves and their backgrounds into projects and programs. What has taken most teachers many years to go beyond the established curricular course by infusing teaching strategies with the diversity needs in all levels, Mr. Gelb has accomplished in one year. As a result, his students feel connected and motivated because their teacher truly understands them. Students in his classroom have made tremendous growth in the areas of responsibility, grades and homework ethics. Always modeling for his class, Mr. Gelb taught two particular students with a history of behavior problems and low grades, that if they put their minds to it they can accomplish anything. With his careful guidance and care these two failing students are moving on to fifth grade feeling more secure in themselves and in their abilities. This is just one example of the legacy Mr. Gelb is beginning to leave with his students.

Mr. Gelb has taken on the development and implementation of special programs and projects for the fourth and fifth grade team and throughout the school. His skills in technology and his passion for reaching out to the diversity needs of all his students has resulted in his leadership role in leading the project of fusing social studies with technology, along with literacy strategies. During collaboration time for the fourth/fifth grade levels, he has led the teachers in providing hand on training in technology and how you can integrate diversity and literacy. He has also organized the all school diversity evening, for all students to share their backgrounds and interests. This diversity night will become part of what we do at Fallon School. He organized our peach maker program. This is a program where students can go to students peace makers to assist them solve their problems among each other. This has always been a successful program in decreasing fights on the playground. Always willing to assist anywhere, we thank him for these innovative programs and projects which have enriched our environment.

Making connections with not only his students but with his parent community and peers is a hallmark of his abilities. He is well respected by the community and staff beyond his grade level and classroom. This is due to the diversity of leadership roles he has successfully taken on as a first year teacher, while establishing his first classroom. Adam has taken on roles that have endeared him to students, parents, and staff. He is the track coach, boy’s basketball coach, peace maker advisor, technology lead, literacy lead, and social events coordinator for staff, luau chair and the jack of all trades. He is at every function and participates fully. Some of his outside classroom participation activity included the following and not all because they have been numerous. At the school carnival he ran a booth, donated a performance from his troop of Hawaiian dancers for a community silent auction bid, organized student groups as a welcome committee for new students and organized sports events on campus, during, after school and on Saturdays. The most remarkable thing with this first year teacher is, he has accomplished all this with still a positive attitude and the desire to see that Fallon School continue to offer quality programs inside and outside the classrooms.
This is a remarkable young man who has accomplished much in his first year of teaching. He is worthy of recognition for the CAEE outstanding first year teacher award.

Tess Thomas
Principal
Eleanor Murray Fallon School