Stanislaus County salutes its 2016 Teachers of the Year
A dozen teachers in Stanislaus County nominated as examples of excellence took a bow on National Teacher Appreciation Day, with four moving up to the next rung of the national Teacher of the Year contest.
The Modesto Rotary Club and the Stanislaus County Office of Education announced the four local educators selected as 2016 county Teacher of the Year at a luncheon May 3.
The Jane Johnston Civility Award was also presented to one of the 12 finalists, Rosio Valenzuela from La Rosa Elementary School in the Ceres Unified School District, for exemplifying the principles of civility.
“A good teacher inspires students, ignites imaginations and instills a love of learning,” said county Superintendent Tom Changnon. “It is truly an honor to partner with the Rotary to recognize these outstanding teachers – each who helps inspire and shape the lives of young students in our county on a daily basis.”
Teachers were nominated by their principals, and finalists were selected from 88 nominees representing 17 school districts in the county. A selection committee, composed of local Rotarians and educators, narrowed the nominations through a paper screening process and then visited the classrooms of 24 semifinalists before narrowing it down to the 12 finalists.
The 2016 Teachers of the Year are:
▪ Early grades: Kristine Jensen from Hughes Elementary School in the Empire Union School District
▪ Grades four to six: Stephanie Pimentel from Cunningham Elementary School in the Turlock Unified School District
▪ Junior high: June Forrest from Roosevelt Junior High School in the Modesto City Schools district
▪ High school: Mary Asgill from Turlock High School in the Turlock Unified School District
Two of the four will be selected after additional interviews to represent the county at the state Teacher of the Year level.
Here are the rest of the finalists:
In the transitional kindergarten through third-grade division: Michelle Jones of Magnolia Elementary in the Oakdale Joint Unified School District, and Nikki Whorton of Orchard Elementary in the Sylvan Union School District.
In the division for grades four to six: Valenzuela of La Rosa and Quinn Waterson of Robertson Road Elementary in Modesto City Schools.
In the junior high division: Robin Johnson of Blaker-Kinser Jr. High in the Ceres Unified School District and Carrie Silva of Mountain View Middle School in the Chatom Union School District.
In the high school division: Brandi Erickson of Ceres High in Ceres and John Godfrey of Modesto Christian High School.
Sponsors of the Stanislaus County Teacher of the Year program are Modesto Rotary Club Foundation, SCOE, Nasco and Mocse Credit Union.
This story was originally published May 15, 2016 at 7:02 PM with the headline "Stanislaus County salutes its 2016 Teachers of the Year."