BYRON, Calif.– On May 8, Contra Costa County Office of Education (CCCOE) Superintendent of Schools Karen Sakata visited Erica Hornnes’ classroom at Excelsior Middle School.
Hornnes, an 11-year instructor, was recently named Byron Union School District’s Teacher of the Year (TOY). During her entire teaching career, Hornnes has been a seventh grade mathematics teacher at Excelsior.
“I was inspired to be a teacher at a young age,” says Hornnes. “My sister, Alicia, and I were lucky to have an amazing role model, our ‘Nanny’ (grandma) who was an extraordinary teacher. We would spend our spring breaks with her when she was teaching. She would encourage us to participate in the grade-level classes that we would be in the next school year, in the hopes, I believe of seeing what was to come. Alicia and I spent many summer hours helping her organize and decorate her class. At a young age I was exposed to the hard work and dedication required of our profession.”
Hornnes adds, “As I think about the moment that I decided to become a teacher, I realized that what motivated me were the people in my life – those who made a difference and believed in me. They were the teachers, mentors, and volunteers that never gave up on me when I made mistakes and believed in me even when I did not. I wanted to be the ‘Nanny,’ sister, Mrs. Shaw, Mrs. Shegioan, Mrs. Johnson, Mr. Finn, and Mrs. McCosker for someone else. I wanted to give back what those people gave to me. I wanted to change lives, impact futures, and inspire greatness in others.”
On the evening of September 28, 2017, the 22 Contra Costa County TOYs, class of 2017-18, including Julie Erica Hornnes, 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
