Dr. Carol Taylor of Rising Starr Middle School is Fayette County's Top Teacher for 2009

Dr. Carol Taylor (R) on stage with Mistress of Ceremonies Caroline Schmitt after being named the 2009 Fayette County Teacher of the year.

The long journey for the three finalists vying for Fayette County Teacher of the Year came to an end Thursday night at New Hope Baptist Church, North Campus, with the naming of the winner.

All eyes were fixed on Superintendent John DeCotis as he opened the sealed envelope and announced that Dr. Carol Taylor of Rising Starr Middle had been selected as the 2009 Fayette County Teacher of the Year.

The other two finalists were Pamela Kinzly of Whitewater High and Dr. Lisa Gonzalez of Robert J. Burch Elementary.

Taylor thanked a long list of teachers and administrators who she said helped pave the way for her success, including her high school English teacher.

“I have worked hard to model her level of exemplary teaching and learning to affect my students the way she affected my life. She instilled my own passion for learning and that passion is reflected in my teaching,” she says.

Taylor also thanked one of her undergraduate professors from Georgia State University, Dr. Karen Schultz, for influencing her career path in mathematics and made a loving tribute to her husband, children and in-laws for their support of her career.

“Thank you for always being there for me and understanding when I could not be with you because of my commitment to my career. I couldn’t have don this without you,” she told her family.

Besides teaching mathematics to her students, Taylor works hard to be a strong, positive role model, showing them that dreams can be achieved.

“I am a wife, a mother, a grandmother, yet also a private pilot of a single engine aircraft, an advanced certified diver, windsurfer, marathon runner, student, Sunday school teacher, and piano and flute player. I approach my students with the attitude that if you can dream it, you can do it,” she said.

The finalists were selected from among 29 different teachers of the year at each school. An independent panel of judges, including last year’s TOTY, rated the application of each teacher to select the three finalists. The final judging stage consisted of a classroom observation followed by a one-on-one interview with the finalists. Judges individually rated each finalist. Their scores were combined to determine the winner.

As Fayette County's 2009 Teacher of the Year, Taylor will represent the county in the Georgia Teacher of the Year competition next spring.

Fayette County's annual TOTY program honors the county’s 29 teachers of the year from each elementary, middle and high school. The program would not be possible without the generous contributions of local businesses and organizations.

TOTY winners from each school received plaques from the Coca Cola Company recognizing their achievement and a commemorative portrait courtesy of Life Touch Photography. Also, Dell Computer, Inc. donated computers to both the runners up and the TOTY. Additionally, the TOTY received a specifically designed ring from Balfour, a $1,000 check from Allan Vigil Ford of Fayetteville and roundtrip airfare for two from AirTran Airlines.

Other top sponsors included Chick-fil-A Dwarf House, Chick-fil-A Towne Center and Starr’s Mill, Coldwater Creek, Delta Community Credit Union, Fayette Animal Clinic, Southern Federal Credit Union, The Avenue Peachtree City, World Gym and numerous other local businesses and organizations.

The following school PTOs and PTSOs also supported this year’s event: Bennett’s Mill Middle, Braelinn Elementary, Robert J. Burch Elementary, Cleveland Elementary, Crabapple Lane Elementary, Fayette County High, Fayette Middle, Fayetteville Intermediate/Hood Avenue Primary, Flat Rock Middle, Huddleston Elementary, Inman Elementary, J.C. Booth Middle, Kedron Elementary, McIntosh High, Rising Starr Middle, Tyrone Elementary, Whitewater High and Whitewater Middle.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
Community News You Can Use
Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook

Fayette County Teachers of the Year Finalists Named

Board of Education Member Dr. Bob Todd presents Dr. Lisa Gonzalez with balloons and flowers as she learns she is a finalist for the county’s teacher of the year.

From 29 contenders to three finalists, the journey to find Fayette’s 2009 Teacher of the Year has begun.

Three unsuspecting teachers were surprised on February 6 as the Teacher of the Year prize patrol made its way around the county announcing this year’s finalists: Pamela Kinzly, Whitewater High; Dr. Carol Taylor, Rising Starr Middle and Dr. Lisa Gonzalez, Robert J. Burch Elementary.


A panel of independent judges, including last year’s winner, Kim Fisher from J.C. Booth Middle, chose the three finalists based on applications they submitted after being nominated Teacher of the Year at their respective schools.

The next step in the process involves a classroom observation and one-on-one interview with the judges. The judges independently score each finalist and then their scores are added together to determine the winner. The 2008 Teacher of the Year will be announced on April 23 at a ceremony at New Hope Baptist Church, North Campus. Here is a brief overview of the finalists.

Although she says she made the decision to become a teacher while a college sophomore, Pamela Kinzly says she spent her days as a young child teaching a classroom full of imaginary students as she completed her homework assignments.

Kinzly, a math teacher, says she doesn’t teach math because she has an extreme love for the subject, but because she has an extreme love for people. By teaching math, she says she is also teaching important problem solving skills that students can use in real life.

“While we are solving quadratic equations the underlying life skill is problem solving: the ability to set up a problem, weigh options, choose a solution and use resources to find the answer,” she says. “Not every student that I teach will go into a profession that requires calculus but every student will need problem solving skills.”

One way Kinzly teaches these life skills is through an activity she calls group grades. Students work in groups to help each other master a particular topic. She encourages students to use their resources instead of simply asking for the answer.

“Students have admitted that, at first, this process is frustrating because they do not get a quick answer, but I have heard numerous times that they are later grateful for these activities when test day comes and they feel confident to complete the questions,” she says.

Kinzly has been a teacher for six years and has taught in Fayette for five.

Dr. Carol Taylor, also a math teacher, says it was a high school English teacher who influenced her decision to become an educator. She says her teacher had a passion for learning, expected and received a high level of commitment from her students and enjoyed a great rapport with them.

“I have worked hard to model her level of exemplary teaching and learning to affect my students the way she affected my life. She instilled my own passion for learning and that passion is reflected in my teaching,” she says.

Like fellow math teacher Kinzly, Taylor likes group work because of the higher-level thinking that occurs as students collaborate and communicate with each other. The groups also help her understand the knowledge of students as she listens to their discussions and watches their actions.

“My classroom abounds with noise from student inquiry, argument, agreement, clarification, challenge, explanation and collaborative checking which all contributes to students’ understanding of mathematical concepts,” she says.

For Taylor, teaching encompasses more than the one year she has with her students. She says teaching for her means building relationships and affecting students’ lives for a lifetime by caring, encouraging and supporting them in all aspects of their lives.

Taylor has been an educator for 19 years, all with the Fayette County School System.

Unlike her fellow finalists, Dr. Lisa Gonzalez, ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages) teacher, always said she would never be a teacher. Many members of her family were educators, so she wanted to be different. However, education found her when, as a sophomore at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, she decided to pursue a major in Spanish through a new Bilingual Bicultural Education program.

“It appears that teaching was in my blood. My first entrance into a classroom convinced me of that,” she says. “I love to see my perfect students, my wonderful students, my hardworking students progress socially and academically.”

Gonzalez says she believes in giving students the tools they need to find what they want to know, combining as many skills as possible into each activity, and getting students to take ownership of their learning. All of the techniques and activities she uses in the classroom are geared toward building students’ confidence. Dr. Carol Taylor

“We [teachers] have the ability to make or break a child’s spirit. We have the ability to instill a love of learning or a disdain for any thing academic. It is our responsibility to make sure our actions encourage students to want to do their best,” she says.

Students know if they are learning and if a teacher is being effective. That’s why Gonzalez feels it is important for teachers to get feedback from their students about how they are doing. Using a report card format, she has asked past classes to rate her performance as a teacher.

“The results were always very interesting because I was able to see how I had impacted each child. Students know if a teacher likes them and wants the best for them. We, as educators, should not fear feedback from the ones we affect the most,” she says.

Gonzalez has been an educator for over 30 years. She has taught in Fayette for 13 years.


Board of Education Member Marion Key congratulates Pamela Kinzly during the middle of a math lesson.


-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
Community News You Can Use
Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page