News Release and information regarding the California Teachers of the Year (CA TOY) Awardees for 2021.
Additional information can be found on the October 28, 2020, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces 2021 California Teachers of the Year News Release #20-86.
Keisa Brown
Grades 7–8, Introduction to Spanish and AVID 8
University Heights Middle School, Riverside
Riverside Unified School District, Riverside County
Keisa Brown's middle school Spanish and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) students enter a "warm, Zen-like calm space, created by soft lighting and mellow music" each day, knowing that their teacher is fully there for them. She believes that teaching is about building relationships and letting her students know that she cares about each one of them. Their class mantra is, "Scholars First," and the day begins with a brief energizing activity and "Food for Thought" with the goal of getting students engaged. They end the class period by sharing a "call and response" inspirational moment.
Keisa's "calling," began when she was a mentor and tutor in the AmeriCorps Program, which developed in her a passion for education. As a first-generation college student and educator, her aspiration was to be a guiding light of hope and encouragement for youth. She now delivers a rigorous, yet culturally responsive curriculum to ensure equity and accessibility, and create sustainable change. Paying it forward in her school community, with AVID practices that are utilized in school-wide systems of student support, as are her many community service projects, is one of Keisa's goals. She advocates for AVID exposure for all students, and a schoolwide culture of college and career readiness. In doing so, her AVID team committed to addressing students' academic performance and brought their schoolwide pass rate from 27 percent to 43 percent, with her AVID elective students achieving a 63 percent pass rate.
Through Ms. Brown's leadership, a culture has been created where all her scholars leave with future orientation, and many now see college as an option that was considered unattainable previously. She wants her students to have a voice, and seeing herself as planting seed of giving and caring, in hopes of "sowing compassionate citizens with character and integrity."
Keisa lives "Ubuntu," which is a Bantu term meaning humanity. She says, "I am who I am because of who we all are."
Keisa Brown may be contacted at University Heights Middle School at 951-788-7388 or kbrown@riversideunified.org.
Allison Cyr
Grade 3, Multiple Subjects
Lyndon B. Johnson Elementary School, Indio
Desert Sands Unified School District, Riverside County
Allison Cyr describes herself by saying, "I am not only a teacher, but a custodian, counselor, mailman, disc jockey (DJ), lawyer, banker, cook, and more, but the catch is that I play all those roles within the first twenty minutes of my day, and I would not trade any of them for anything."
Every single day in Allison's class begins with a greeting that includes telling her students that they are loved. High expectations for each student's success in the safe space of her classroom are paramount. Although the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation has changed her classroom "space," Allison knows that learning continues because she and her students are a team, ready each day to take on whatever challenges come their way. Ms. Cyr's belief that teachers are "life givers" was put to the test when, at the age of 20 she gave one of her beloved high school teachers a kidney. "To deny life to a teacher so committed to helping students finish school wasn't a choice for me," she explains. During her student teaching, she created a nonprofit known as "Twenty4Change, $20 or 20 minutes to change a life." She continues this program so that her students learn to be "doers" and have the courage to take care of those they may have never met. And, sometimes, it means taking care of each other as well.
At the core of Allison's classroom is a dedication to reading instruction, but also to reading for comprehension and pleasure. She is committed to differentiating instruction, taking each child from where he or she is, to the next step. She wants to be the "teacher who teacher literacy" and shares Frederick Douglass' quote that, "Once you learn to read, you will be forever free."
Allison asks, "Who would you be today if it weren't for that person who believed you could do anything you set your mind to achieve?" This tenacious, creative, caring teacher practices what she preaches, and her students experience her caring every day and know that she will always be their advocate, coach, and support person.
Allison Cyr may be contacted at Lyndon B. Johnson Elementary School at 760-863-3680 or allison.cyr@desertsands.us.
Laura E. Gómez
Grade 3, Multiple Subjects
Martin Elementary School, Santa Ana
Santa Ana Unified School District, Orange County
Laura Gómez describes herself as a "passionate third grade teacher who has dedicated 25 years to helping students of all language designations and abilities achieve their goals." Her classroom exemplifies this creative passion, from students donning construction vests and hats as they measure student-sized polygons and determine area and perimeter of classroom floors in their role of "engineers," to designing, building, and testing a battery-operated wiggle-bot. Ms. Gomez has created her classroom culture to be one of trust, high expectations, rigorous activities, individualized learning, and fun, engaging experiences that she believes foster higher student achievement.
As an English learner, Laura said that it was ready for her to feel invisible. She remembers feeling "seen" for the first time in her French teacher's class in tenth grade. This nurturing teacher gave her the confidence to begin her journey as an educator, as she puts it, "with a box of donated books and a tremendous desire to help." As an immigrant and first-generation college graduate in her family, she knows the value of education, and fostering parent-school relationships. Among other things, Laura has hosted parent nights for the English learners at her school in math, family literacy, and science, and has trained her students to lead the games and projects.
Keeping her students and their families interacting during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation is a priority for Laura. During distance learning she re-imagined student engagement in the classroom. She discovered that many lack a quiet, consistent learning space and have only intermittent access to Wi-Fi hotspots. So, Ms. Gomez remains flexible, makes phone calls home, and writes postcards to keep students engaged. As Laura puts it, "We may lack resources for comprehensive wraparound services, but we can help our students beat the odds by addressing their family's needs.
It is imperative to Laura that teacher, especially in vulnerable communities, provide a compassionate, culturally inclusive, and rigorous program in which "all students are valued and seen as assets in our classrooms." She believes that forming genuine bonds with students creates a learning culture where they give their very best because they know she cares.
Laura E. Gómez may be contacted at Martin Elementary School at 714-480-8000 or laura.gomez@sausd.us.
Jim Klipfel
National Teacher of the Year Candidate
Grades 9–12, Social Studies and Athletics
Saugus High School, Saugus
William S. Hart Union High School District, Los Angeles County
According to his students, high school social studies teacher, Jim Klipfel is a "caring teddy bear" with high energy and serious intensity, who respects them as equals, shares his lunch, and listens to their problems. Jim sees himself as the teacher who says, "Be Toto and pull back the curtain," the teacher who model sacrifice and service, and welcomes dissent and diversity.
Jim's driving philosophy is Kaizen, a Japanese term meaning unrelenting improvement, and to that end, he and his like-minded colleagues designed a ninth-grade orientation that is now in its second decade. Over 50 older student mentors were recruited and trained, and given copies of Sean Covey's book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. Mr. Klipfel personally led sessions on character, organization, relationships, and hard work, in order to promote a successful high school experience.
Increasing classroom-community connections is one of Jim's strategies for creating an effective school that is a haven for kids and a way to redirect students back into their communities. Taking his students into Los Angeles to visit the Central Library for a research project is always an exciting adventure for them, as many have never ridden public transportation, walked in Los Angeles, or used a large library. He believes that they cannot value community infrastructure if they are unaware of it. As Mr. Klipfel puts it, "Classroom-community relationships are critical arrows in my educator's quiver."
Jim believes that the mental health of the young is perhaps the top challenge facing educators. Each year he finds himself stepping back more often from content in order to teach kids about healthy living. In doing so, he tells them daily stories to help them get organized, take risks and recover from setbacks. He explains, "I'm famous for saying: 'Be brave, not perfect.'"
A colleague says of Mr. Klipfel, "This is a teacher who goes to school before dawn with trays of muffins to fuel his students for morning study sessions. This is a teacher who doesn't think twice about running out into an open quad during a school shooting because he sees students on the ground and he needs to save them. This is your Teacher of the Year."
Jim Klipfel may be reached at Saugus High School at 661-259-3900 or jklipfel@hartdistrict.org.
Nora Wynne
Grades 6–8, Spanish
McKinleyville Middle School, McKinleyville
McKinleyville Union Elementary School District, Humboldt County
Serving in the Peace Corps in Guatemala, where she learned that not every child has the chance to get an education, was a driving force behind Nora Wynne's decision to become a teacher. She saw teaching as an opportunity to make real and positive change, and because of these experiences, she in now a middle school Spanish teacher with a passion for active learning, social justice, and equity for all students. Her learning environment encourages her students to take risks with language as they actively speak, read, write, and listen in Spanish. She makes certain that "my students on the margins have an ally in me." She sees each student as multi-dimensional, unique, and valuable. Students in Ms. Wynne's class learn to be critical thinkers and active participants in our democracy, as they learn and experience diverse perspectives in a multilingual world.
Music is integral to her highly interactive classroom culture, and the students look forward to Wednesdays for Musica Miercoles and their song of the week. They eagerly discuss cultural elements within the song, and this connectivity exposes them to linguistic and cultural diversity. Mania Musical de Marzo, (March Madness of Music!) is a music tournament of the entire month. Students read and talk about the lyrics, watch the music videos, and then write about their opinion of the songs. Nora believes that music is a powerful motivator and relevant to her students who now enjoy Spanish beyond the walls of her classroom.
To guarantee her students are engaged with online learning, Nora reaches out to marginalized students through phone calls home, and serves as a needed translator and link to the non-English speaking families at her school.
Ms. Wynne's students are encouraged to read local bilingual news. She engages them in cultural exchanges with students from Argentina, Mexico, Nicaragua, Spain, and Ecuador, who give presentations to her classes. These real-world interactions help student delve into complex immigration issues and develop empathy for the less fortunate.
Nora believe that her greatest accomplishments have been the "deep and lasting connections" she has made with many of her students, as she watches them go out into the world and make positive changes.
Nora Wynne may be reached at McKinleyville Middle School at 707-839-1508 or nwynne@mckusd.org.