Five members awarded top honors as California’s 2008 Teachers of the Year

Five CTA members have won the California Teacher of the Year award for 2008. They are Andee Aceves from the Lem­on Grove Teachers Association, Michael Allen Long from the South Whittier Teachers Association, Gregory McFall from the Westminster Teachers Association, Tamara Reina from the Association of Educators CTA/NEA (San Diego County), and Lewis Chappelear from United Teachers Los Angeles. Chappelear has been selected to represent California in the National Teacher of the Year competition (see related story).

This year’s winners, from left, are Lewis Chappelear, Gregory McFall, Tamara Reina, Andee Aceves and Michael Allen Long. Seated is State Superintendent Jack O’Connell.

Andee Aceves is a third-grade teacher at San Altos Elementary School in the Lemon Grove School District (San Diego County). Raised by non-English-speaking grandparents, she experienced the disconnect that still exists today for a great many of California’s children between home and school, a place where she says she felt like an uninvited but tolerated guest.

“Unlike many of my colleagues who have always intended to teach and come from a long line of educated family members, I have a different perspective.

“I know that not all students have equal access to resources. I understand that loving, caring parents cannot always help with homework. I even recognize the strength of the unruly child who comes to school despite the chaos he/she lives in.”

She was that “bright, skeptical, and belligerent child” in the class, the student whom teachers talked about disparagingly in the teacher’s lounge. Her personal teaching style reflects a willing acceptance and consideration of skeptical students and their families. “I teach to make a difference in their perception of school and to remove those barriers that interfere with learning.”

Michael Allen Long teaches a combination fourth- and fifth-grade class at Carmela Elementary School in the South Whittier School District (Los Angeles County). Long instills in his students a love and respect for education, especially for the written word.

“The issue of failing writing scores is not new to public schools in the United States, especially among upper-grade students,” says Long. “However, experts are baffled by the fact that students, who are making gains in reading and other aspects of language, simply cannot seem to make the grade when it comes to composition.” He believes this trend threatens the geopolitical success of future leaders. “If they are to become globally competitive, they must be able to master the written domain. Technology will change, as will the needs of the job market. The need for competent writers, however, will always exist, increasing simultaneously with the demands of the information age.”

Gregory McFall teaches U.S. history at Johnson Middle School in the Westminster Elementary School District (Orange County).

He believes that before students can succeed in school and in life, educators must break the pattern of generational poverty that is contributing to the widening of the achievement gap.

“I feel educators can effectively break the cycle of poverty to equip and prepare students for college and a career,” says McFall. “To diminish the effects of poverty in education, teachers must root the community’s fundamental ideas into our schools to increase economic opportunities for our students and their parents.”

He believes schools must seek out corporate and community leaders to embrace the school and demonstrate cooperation. “We must look carefully at the school culture and the school recreational programs, and align our school practices with the positive influences within the community to ensure we are providing educational equity for all students. Only through mutual relationship of community, district, and school can we break the effects of poverty on education and take steps to guarantee high achievement for all students across the nation.”

Tamara “Tammy” Reina teaches English and U.S. History at East Mesa School in San Diego’s all-male East Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility. She is not only a thoroughly committed teacher, she is mentor, counselor, confidante, and sometimes parent to her stu­dents, many of whom are serious juvenile offenders. Beyond the razor wire and sliding steel doors, Reina gives books to students who’ve seldom read, and hope to those who’ve never had any.

“My students are frequently going through some of the most difficult periods of their lives,” says Reina. “Oftentimes, life in the unit and court dates are reminders of the mistakes they have made and struggles yet to come. My classroom is a place where they cannot only escape the stress of their current situation, but can feel a sense of pride in their academic accomplishments as well as hope in their future.

“When I watch their eyes begin to light up with hope as opposed to the protective indifference they so often bring with them initially, I know that I must foster and protect that hope — because for these students in the beginning stages, hope is fragile.”