PLEASANT HILL, Calif., September 25, 2015, Last night, in an energy-filled and packed Concord Hilton banquet room, Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools Karen Sakata, announced Maria McClain, of Antioch Unified School District and Kate Perry of Liberty Union High School District as the county’s 2015-2016 Teachers of the Year.
Maria McClain recently began her 28th year of teaching grades 10-12 for the Antioch Unified School District. For the past 19 years, McClain has been at Deer Valley High School (Antioch). McClain has taught high school pre-calculus, AP Calculus, AP statistics, and algebra, as well as junior high school mathematics and algebra. McClain obtained her undergraduate college units at Diablo Valley College, followed by earning her bachelor’s degree in mathematics and teaching credentials at California State University, Sacramento.
“Through her dedication, Maria McClain consistently demonstrates the finest qualities and attributes of a highly skilled educator and serves as a solid role model for her fellow peers,” says Susan Ceballos, vice principal, Deer Valley High School. “It is truly refreshing to observe how she creates an academic environment that is both engaging and enriching for all her students. On a daily basis, Ms. McClain maintains a standards-based instructional program that not only promotes an appreciation for mathematics, but also provides her students with the fundamental learning concepts for life-long application. At the same time, she implements successful instructional strategies that address the diverse learning needs of all students. In doing so, she differentiates her instructional approach by employing an array of strategies and activities to monitor student progress daily. Perhaps and most importantly, Ms. McClain is able to motivate her students by establishing high expectations while still maintaining a nurturing rapport with them during the instructional period.”
This past July, Kate Perry began her fifth year of teaching social science to grades 9-12 at Independence High School, in Brentwood. The nine-year teacher also taught social studies at St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School, in Vallejo, and worked as a service learning coordinator for Irvington High School in Fremont. Perry attained her bachelor’s degree in political science from San Francisco State University, earning her teaching credentials at Mills College and University of California Extension. Last year, she received her master’s degree in education from Mills College.
“I enrolled into Independent High School as a sophomore, after dropping out six moths prior from my first high school,” reports Perry’s former student, Tiffany Montana. When I came to Ms. Perry, I didn’t have goals and graduation was farfetched. That was not good enough for her. She showed me that if I stayed focused on my schoolwork and I worked hard, I could graduate on time. Ms. Perry knew I could be anything I wanted, and helped me realize that I really could be anything I wanted to be. While attending Independence, she would text or call me before class to make sure I was going to come in. As a teacher, she provided me with the push I needed. Knowing my decisions could potentially disappoint her was enough for me to do my best. When I graduated on time, in 2014, I had a 3.7 GPA and was looking forward to my future. I owe this drastic change to Ms. Perry’s dedication to my education.”
After both teachers were named Teacher of the Year by their school districts, last March, McClain and Perry successfully proceeded, with the other 16 eligible county candidates, through a rigorous countywide selection process, it included an application screening, classroom evaluation, interview, and speech presentation. Their fellow finalists are Dawn Foote, Liberty Union High School District (Ron Nunn Elementary) and Paul Fitzgerald, Acalanes Union High School District, (Miramonte High).
More than 400 attendees were on hand for an evening that will certainly not be forgotten. The audience was made up of the TOYs’ family members and friends, as well as numerous local educators, business partners, and elected officials. Kicking off the festivities were a few high-energy musical numbers, featuring intricate rhythms of percussion instruments and complementary harmonies of a 60-student group from Alamo Elementary. The tremendous performance was lead by their music teacher, Nancy Raaum.
The evening also featured Sakata introducing the TOY class of 2015-2016 of sharing with the audience her visits to each of the teachers’ classrooms, and the comments their students gave her about their teachers. This was followed by speeches of the TOY finalists on the topic: “What I have learned from my students.” After the finalists’ speeches were given, McClain and Perry’s announcement was made by Sakata.
McClain and Perry will now compete with all the other county representatives in the California State TOY competition. The California State Teachers of the Year are expected to be announced in late October. The county TOY program is coordinated by the Contra Costa County Office of Education.
