Finalists selected for Fayette Teacher of the Year

Finalists selected

for Fayette Teacher of the Year

Three Fayette

County teachers will be surprised today with balloons and flowers and

a formal announcement of their selection as finalists for the 2001 Teacher

of the Year.

School administrators

and elected officials will deliver the congratulatory message in a celebratory

van. Until then, the identity of the winners has been kept secret. In

fact only two people in the entire school system know the names of the

winners ­ Terri Gaspierik, coordinator of the Teacher of the Year

program, and Superintendent Dr. John DeCotis.

In December,

each school selected its own Teacher of the Year. Winning teachers from

each school submitted an application to be considered for the countywide

Teacher of the Year award. The application covered areas such as professional

biography, professional development activities, community involvement,

philosophy of teaching, perception of education issues and trends, and

identification of teaching techniques and methods that can be used to

strengthen the teaching profession.

Four judges,

consisting of a retired administrator, retired teacher, community representative

and last year's Fayette Teacher of the Year, looked at all of the applications

Jan. 23 and rated each category above. A maximum number of points was

assigned to each area with the highest possible score totaling 100 points

for the entire application. The teachers who received the three highest

scores were selected to advance to the Teacher of the Year finals.

In March, the

judges will return to observe the teachers in their classrooms as well

as interview each teacher. Both the observation and interview will be

taped. The judges will use this information to select the teacher that

will be named Teacher of the Year for Fayette County.

The winner

will be announced April 26 at the Teacher of the Year celebration, at

Flat Creek Baptist Church from 7-9 p.m. The theme for this year's celebration

is "saluting Fayette's finest." The county winner will go on

to compete in the statewide competition in 2002. Last year's winner, Linda

Brem from Fayette County High School, is competing in the statewide competition

this year.

Judges based

their selection of finalists on the following qualities:]

Acts as an

ambassador for public education and Fayette County.

Keeps students

on task.

Treats all

students equally.

Provides physical

environment conducive to learning.

Demonstrates

command of subject.

Stimulates

students' interest.

Shows warmth

and friendliness.

Manages classroom

effectively.

Participates

in professional development.

Gets involved

in total school program.

FReflects personal

beliefs and feelings about teaching in the classroom.