Rebecca Mieliwocki
Rebecca Mieliwocki, a 2012 California Teacher of the Year from Los Angeles County, has been selected as one of four finalists nationwide for the 2012 National Teacher of the Year.
“I am elated that Rebecca, who is remarkably gifted and innovative, is being considered as the nation’s next top teacher,” says state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson. “I nominated her for this prestigious title because she is an inspiration to other teachers as well as her students, who are learning and succeeding due to her tremendous classroom skill.”
Mieliwocki (pronounced like Milwaukee) was named in November as one of five California Teachers of the Year. Her selection as a national finalist was announced in January by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), a nonpartisan, nationwide, nonprofit organization of public officials who head departments of elementary and secondary education.
Mieliwocki, a Burbank Teachers Association member, has been teaching for more than 13 years, including nine years at Burbank Middle School, where she teaches general education and Gifted and Talented Education classes. She is faculty chair and serves on the school leadership team. Her lessons are infused with a wide array of technical tools that, as her principal says, “brings lessons to life.”
She earned a B.A. in speech communication at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and a single subject clear credential in English at CSU Northridge.
“It is amazing and yet profoundly humbling to have been nominated by my colleagues for Teacher of the Year,” says Mieliwocki. “I am not the best teacher in California — but I am a reflection of all of us who have devoted ourselves to teaching.”
Mieliwocki and three other finalists from Florida, Alabama, and the Department of Defense Education Activity agency in Italy were chosen by a national selection committee representing the major national education organizations. The winner will be announced in April.
For more information on the four 2012 National Teacher of the Year finalists, visit the CCSSO website at www.ccsso.org.
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