PLEASANT HILL, Calif., March 27 2015 – The following four teachers have been named as the 2015-2016 Contra Costa County Teacher of the Year (TOY) Finalists: Paul Fitzgerald, Acalanes Union High School District; Dawn Foote, Brentwood Union School District; Maria McClain, Antioch Unified School District; and Kate Perry, Liberty Union High School District. Two of these four finalists will be chosen in late September, and will represent Contra Costa County in the California State TOY Program.
Paul Fitzgerald teaches history to grades 11-12 at Miramonte High (Orinda). The 40-year highschool teacher has taught U.S. history, AP U.S. History, AP European history, English, and psychology. Prior to coming to Miramonte 18 years ago, Fitzgerald’s education career also included teaching high-school courses in Denver; Chicago; and Costa Mesa, Calif.
Dawn Foote has been a speech pathologist for grades K-5 at Ron Nunn Elementary School (Brentwood) for the past 24 years. During her 25-year career, Foote has also served as a speech therapist for the Regional Center East Bay, the Valley Memorial Center, and the Pittsburg Unified School District.
Maria McClain is currently completing her 27th 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.
Kate Perry is finishing up her fourth year of teaching social science to grades 9-12 at Independence High School (Brentwood). The eight-year teacher also taught social studies at St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School (Vallejo) and worked as a service learning coordinator for Irvington High School (Fremont).
The Contra Costa County Office of Education directs the county’s TOY program. With such A high caliber of teaching professionals to draw from (this year there were 20 eligible teachers), the CCCOE’s TOY program uses a three-stage selection process, with a point and percentage system to determine the final candidate as follows:
I Application Screening:
On March 20, a committee of 13, representing the county’s education, business, and public-sector partners meticulously reviewed the applications submitted by the school districts. This committee independently rated each application. After the application screening and scoring was completed, these four teachers were selected to advance to the next two phases as TOY finalists.
II Classroom Observation and Interview:
During the months of April and early May, a small committee of education specialists and business partners will observe the four finalists interacting with their students during class, followed by interviews with the TOYs. The committee and finalists will discuss topics such as their teaching philosophies and student-progress techniques.
III Speech Presentation:
This coming August, the four TOY finalists will each give a three- to five-minute speech to another panel of a dozen educators, business, and public-sector representatives who will judge the finalists on their speech and presentation skills.
On the evening of September 24, 2015, all 22 TOYs, accompanied by their families, friends, and co-workers (an audience of more than 400) will be honored at the annual Teacher of the Year Dinner Celebration, held at the Hilton Concord. Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools Karen Sakata, who serves as master of ceremonies, introduces all the TOYs to the audience. This will be followed by the four finalists giving their three- to five-minute speeches (same speeches given at the Speech Presentation) to the filled banquet room. The always-exciting evening will come to a dramatic close with the announcement of the two 2015-2016 Contra Costa County Teachers of the Year.
Currently, there are approximately 8,126teachers educating more than 173,000students 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 recently named their Teachers of the Year (TOY) representatives. (See entire list of the county’s TOYs on our earlier news release.) This year’s 22 TOYs represent 17 Contra Costa County school districts, the Contra Costa Community College District, and the Contra Costa County Office of Education (CCCOE). Twenty of these representatives, those who teach grades pre-K thru 12, are eligible to compete in the Contra Costa County TOY competition. The two winners of the county TOY program will represent Contra Costa County in the California State TOY Program this coming fall.
