Sacramento County Teachers of the Year 2007 Announced
Posted September 7, 2006
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Teachers Representing Elk Grove and San Juan Advance to State Competition
A first grade teacher from the Elk Grove Unified School District and a third grade teacher from the San Juan Unified School District are the Sacramento County Teachers of the Year 2007.
Skye Mie Smith, from Prairie Elementary School in the Elk Grove Unified School District, and Cheryl Dultz, from Kingswood Elementary School in the San Juan Unified School District, were honored at the County Teachers of the Year banquet held September 6 at the Sacramento Hilton Hotel. Ms. Smith and Ms. Dultz were among the 16 local Teachers of the Year 2007 who were recognized at the annual event.
All of the school districts within the County of Sacramento, along with the Sacramento County Office of Education, are invited each year to participate in the Sacramento County Teachers of the Year Program. Larger districts are eligible to submit two entries.
Each district's Teacher of the Year completes a comprehensive application packet, which includes an extensive biography and answers to questions ranging from personal philosophy of teaching to an understanding of current educational issues.
A community selection committee comprised of education professionals, including previous Teachers of the Year, meets in the fall to interview each district Teacher of the Year and select the two finalists. The names of all the candidates were entered in the Teachers of the Year 2007 Program in Sacramento County.
During the awards banquet, each district Teacher of the Year was introduced by either a current or former student, or a parent of a student. David W. Gordon, County Superintendent of Schools, and Brian Cooley, President of the Sacramento County Board of Education, presented each of the Teachers of the Year with an inscribed award. Outgoing Teachers of the Year Allison Stiles and Tom Funk announced the names of Skye Mie Smith and Cheryl Dultz as their successors. County School Board Trustee Elinor L. Hickey, a former district and county Teacher of the Year, presented Ms. Smith and Ms. Dultz with the Award of Merit, the highest honor bestowed by the County Board of Education. John Henman, representing the Sacramento Scottish Rite Bodies of Freemasonry, awarded a perpetual trophy to be shared by Ms. Smith and Ms. Dultz during the 2006-07 school year.
Skye Mie Smith and Cheryl Dultz now are eligible to advance to the statewide competition, out of which five teachers will be chosen as California Teachers of the Year. The five California Teachers of the Year are responsible for representing the teaching profession in a variety of settings and assisting their teaching colleagues in numerous ways throughout the calendar year of 2007. Their names and that of the one individual of the group selected as the state's nominee to the National Teacher of the Year Program will be announced later in the fall by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
The Sacramento County Teachers of the Year Program is presented by the Sacramento County Office of Education in partnership with Maloof Sports and Entertainment and the Sacramento Scottish Rite Bodies of Freemasonry.
The 16 Sacramento area teachers will be honored during a special halftime presentation when the Sacramento Kings host the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets on Monday, February 5, 2007 at ARCO Arena.
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Jean Luigi Center Unified School District Teacher of the Year 2007 Wilson C. Riles Middle School 6th Grade English/Language Arts, Social Studies
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Ryan Galles Del Paso Heights School District Teacher of the Year 2007 Garden Valley Elementary School 6th Grade
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Teresa Bunner Elk Grove Unified School District Teacher of the Year 2007 Monterey Trail High School English, Department Chair
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Skye Mie Smith Elk Grove Unified School District Teacher of the Year 2007 Prairie Elementary School 1st Grade Selected as Sacramento County Teacher of the Year 2007
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Dena Reeve Folsom Cordova Unified School District Teacher of the Year 2007 Folsom High School Sophomore English, Small Learning Communities
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Janine Raybe Galt Joint Union High School District Teacher of the Year 2007 Galt High School 10th Grade Honors English, Literacy Coach, Department Chair
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Karolee Smiley Grant Joint Union High School District Teacher of the Year 2007 Foothill Farms Junior High School 7th Grade Science (Life Science), AVID
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Goya Gutierrez Natomas Unified School District Teacher of the Year 2007 Natomas Middle School Special Education/Special Day Class
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Cherie Liu-Barba North Sacramento School District Teacher of the Year 2007 Hazel Strauch Elementary School 5th Grade
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Bobbi Donovan Rio Linda Union School District Teacher of the Year 2007 Kohler Elementary School 1st Grade
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Melinda Stephens-Bukey Robla School District Teacher of the Year 2007 Robla School 3rd Grade
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Clay Dagler Sacramento City Unified School District Teacher of the Year 2007 Luther Burbank High School Pre Algebra–International Baccalaureate Math
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Marsha A. Stanley Sacramento City Unified School District Arthur A. Benjamin Health Professions High School English, Drama
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Sharon Botkin Sacramento County Office of Education Teacher of the Year 2007 Northview & Neese Head Start Preschools Special Education
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Teri Berke San Juan Unified School District Teacher of the Year 2007 Casa Roble Fundamental High School English
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Cheryl Fox Dultz San Juan Unified School District Teacher of the Year 2007 Kingswood Elementary School 3rd grade Selected as Sacramento County Teacher of the Year 2007
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