Home Brentwood Brentwood Union School District 2017-18 Teacher of the Year Receives Special Visit

Brentwood Union School District 2017-18 Teacher of the Year Receives Special Visit

by ECT

BRENTWOOD, Calif. – On May 22, Contra Costa County Office of Education (CCCOE) Superintendent of Schools Karen Sakata visited the classroom of Shawna Borba, at William B. Bristow Middle School, in Brentwood. Borba, a 15-year instructor, was named Brentwood Union School District’s Teacher of the Year (TOY), earlier this year. Borba has taught a variety of courses at Bristow since 2002, including physical education, journalism, language arts, and history. Currently, she is teaching consumer arts, leadership, and serves as the coordinator and director of the school’s Associated Student Body.

When asked about her philosophy of teaching, Borba replies, “Every day provides an opportunity to make an impact. Teaching for the past 15 years has definitely taught me a thing or two.  As teachers we often become so test­-and-curriculum­ driven that we feel forced to move at such a high speed that we leave causalities in our wake. It is a hard line to balance and one I continually struggle with; I need to cover the material and I need to make sure the class is learning. I’ve determined that the students need me to put them first.”

Borba continues, “Sometimes all it takes is to slow down to ask how their weekend was, or provide an open, safe classroom in which to eat their lunch. And sometimes it’s an ear to listen or word of encouragement. Time and again I’ve been shown that this impact is much greater than the thoughtfully planned lesson that I delivered that day. Students who come back to visit don’t bring up the amazing lesson I gave them on prepositional phrases; they remember the time I gave them. They remember that I cared and saw in them more than just a name on a roster.”

On the evening of September 28, 2017, the 22 Contra Costa County TOYs, class of 2017-18, including Shawna Borba, will be introduced and honored at the annual Teacher of the Year Dinner Celebration, held at the Concord Hilton. The 22 TOYs will be accompanied by their families, friends, and co-workers. The expected crowd of close to 500 will also include numerous other supporters of the program. For more information about this year’s CCCOE TOY Program, please review this earlier-sent news release.

Throughout the school year, Superintendent Sakata makes it a point to visit each incoming TOY in their classrooms, prior to the Dinner Celebration. This is a great way for her to meet the teachers and their students, as well as take in the day’s lesson plan. When individually introducing the TOYs at the Dinner Celebration, Sakata will tell the audience about her visit and will quote one or two of the students’ remarks about their revered teacher.

Currently, there are approximately 8,400 teachers educating more than 176,000 students in Contra Costa County’s public schools. To recognize their efforts and bring much-deserved honor to the teaching profession, the participating school districts in the county named their TOY representatives in mid March. The incoming 22 TOYs represent 17 Contra Costa County school districts, the Contra Costa Community College District, and the Contra Costa County Office of Education (CCCOE). Most of these representatives, those who teach grades K thru 12, are eligible to compete in the Contra Costa County TOY competition. The two top teachers in the county TOY program will represent Contra Costa County in the California State TOY Program this coming fall.

Note regarding eligible participants:

Seventeen of the eighteen Contra Costa County school districts represented, and the CCCOE are participating in this year’s TOY program.

Each year, one instructor from Contra Costa Community College District is submitted to the TOY program for his/her outstanding body of work with their designated college. The colleges rotate each year between Diablo Valley, Los Medanos, and Contra Costa. (These instructors do not compete in the State Teacher of the Year competition.) This year is Diablo Valley College’s turn.

Due to the larger number of students and teachers in their districts, West Contra Costa USD, Mt. Diablo USD, and San Ramon Valley USD are allowed to submit two TOY candidates

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