Imagine Schools Salutes our 2017 Teacher of the Year!

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Imagine Schools values the 3,000 teachers whose craft and passion accelerates the learning of every Imagine student. But each year, we select one teacher who embodies the very best of what it means to educate and inspire students to reach higher, try harder, and become successful scholars and citizens.

The process of selecting our Teacher of the Year is rigorous, comprised of peer reviews and regional evaluations to select a finalist from each geographical group within our organization. These six finalists are then reviewed by a national team, led by our Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Nancy Hall, and our CEOs, Jason Bryant and Barry Sharp.

Based upon this national review, we are delighted to announce Ashley Sweigert, third grade teacher at Imagine Tempe in Tempe, Arizona as our 2017 National Teacher of the Year. As an educator in Dr. Brad Uchacz’s Group, Ms. Sweigert is a dedicated teacher with great passion for her students’ success. As a personal remark in her teacher portfolio, she states: “I do what I do because I want to help all students learn at their highest potential and succeed academically. I do what I do to support students in reaching their goals…I do what I do to be a constant, positive role model and support system in their lives.” Ms. Selethia Benn, School Leader of Imagine Tempe, comments in her narrative: “Ms. Sweigert not only embodies the Shared Values of Imagine Schools, but drives its vision and mission through every day actions. Ms. Sweigert approaches teaching with a determination of steadfast intentionality that ensures a 100% success rate among her students.”

Ashley Sweigert, (center) third grade teacher at Imagine Tempe in Tempe, AZ is Imagine Schools' 2017 National Teacher of the Year. Jason Bryant, CEO (left) and Dr. Nancy Hall, Chief Academic Officer (right) were among many regional and national leaders on hand to congratulate Ms. Sweigert.

Ashley Sweigert, (center) third grade teacher at Imagine Tempe in Tempe, AZ is Imagine Schools’ 2017 National Teacher of the Year. Jason Bryant, CEO (left) and Dr. Nancy Hall, Chief Academic Officer (right) were among many regional and national leaders on hand to congratulate Ms. Sweigert.

Student data and results are a testament to Ms. Sweigert’s craft as a teacher. She knows where her students are, where they need to go, the content they need to master, and the delivery method most effective for the students in her room. By the winter STAR assessment, Ms. Sweigert’s students achieved an average mean learning gain of 1.10 in reading and, at the same time, demonstrated growth in fluency on the DIBELS assessment by moving from 58 words per minute to 84 words per minute. In mathematics, the fall to winter average mean learning gain on STAR was 1.11.

According to Ms. Benn, Ms. Sweigert gives “110% every day.” She is an academy leader, manages the English Language Learners (ELL) department, tutors students after school, runs an AzMERIT Boot Camp, mentors other teachers, and shares best practices during professional learning community meetings. Guests in her classroom invariably state, “I could stay here all day.” It is evident from the application narrative and the video submittal, Ms. Sweigert expertly plans for student individuality and ownership of learning; she instills confidence in her students as they work in collaborative groups; and she realizes that every minute counts in education.

Serving as our 2017 National Teacher of the Year, Ashley represents the many outstanding Imagine educators across the country. Imagine Schools’ leadership commends Ashley’s exceptional teaching, work as a mentor and team member, and passion for the mission of Imagine Schools. Congratulations!

Competition for this year’s National Teacher of the Year was intense! As a result, our national selection committee ultimately awarded Ashley Davis, first grade ELL teacher in all subjects at Imagine Cortez Park in Phoenix, Arizona, Imagine Schools 2017 National Teacher of the Year Runner-Up.

Ashley Davis (center of award check), first grade ELL teacher at Imagine Cortez Park in Phoenix, AZ, receives the 2017 National Teacher of the Year Runner-Up award from Jason Bryant, CEO (left of Ashley) and Dr. Nancy Hall, Chief Academic Officer, (right of Ashley), along with several regional and national leaders.

Ashley Davis (center of award check), first grade ELL teacher at Imagine Cortez Park in Phoenix, AZ, receives the 2017 National Teacher of the Year Runner-Up award from Jason Bryant, CEO (left of Ashley) and Dr. Nancy Hall, Chief Academic Officer, (right of Ashley), along with several regional and national leaders.

Part of Monte Lange’s Group, Ms. Davis has served a diverse population of students on this campus for eight years. According to School Leader Jason Whitaker, Ms. Davis “. . . embraces the possibilities that her students bring to her every year” and “cultivate[s] positive relationships and foster[s] academic and social growth among her students.” As an ELL teacher, the number of students testing out of ELL, based on the Arizona-mandated AZELLA test for English Language Learners, is impressive: Spring 2015, 16 out of 27 students; spring 2016, 17 out of 21; and spring 2017, 13 out of 16.

Ms. Davis is a dedicated teacher and a valued professional who demonstrates the Shared Value of Integrity through her work in the classroom, in the school, and extending to other campuses and regions. She reaches out to others to share her knowledge and expertise as an academy leader, facilitates professional learning sessions on her campus and regionally, mentors novice teachers, participates in A-Team visits, and serves as a cooperating teacher with Grand Canyon University and Arizona State University.

When we consider the importance of parent relationships, Ms. Davis demonstrates the essence of an Imagine teacher. She attends her students’ sporting events, quinceañeras, and family gatherings. Her regular communications to her parents are greatly appreciated and at times, require translation support. For parents, she offers a short message of daily reading and mathematics objectives that is posted outside her classroom door. One parent writes: “My daughter wakes up happy to go to school each day…Ms. Davis is a vital part of the reason that I chose and continue to choose Imagine Cortez Park.”

Congratulations to Ashley for receiving the National Teacher of the Year Runner-Up recognition!

2017 National Teacher of the Year Finalists highlight the expertise of our teaching professionals in each geographical group. Imagine Schools salutes each of these Group finalists!

Imagine Schools' teachers foster confidence so even our youngest scholars become comfortable collaborating and communicating.

Imagine Schools’ teachers foster confidence so even our youngest scholars become comfortable collaborating and communicating.

Imagine Schools 2017 National Teacher of the Year Finalist, Rebeca Tyner, from Amy Buttke’s Group, teaches third grade at Imagine Leadership Academy in Akron, Ohio. In the application packet narrative, Mr. McCable, Intervention Specialist, describes Ms. Tyner as “. . . an exceptional teacher who has a great natural temperament and intelligence, a high level of motivation and preparedness, an eagerness to go above and beyond all expectations . . . and a deep, abiding commitment to seeing students succeed.” Ms. Tyner’s submitted video demonstrates these outstanding traits as she facilitates a lesson on equivalent fractions by engaging students in differentiated learning experiences including cooperative learning.   Ms. Pettaway, School Leader, states that she appreciates Ms. Tyner’s growth mindset and her steadfast commitment to excel as a teacher and as a learner.

The fall to winter, same-student learning gains in STAR reading and STAR mathematics show impressive movement in the benchmark and advanced categories and significant decreases in urgent and intervention groups. At the end of the winter assessment period, the average mean learning gain in reading recorded as 1.10 and in mathematics 1.19.

Ms. Tyner is a strong educational partner with her parents. She invites them to volunteer in the classroom, communicates with families through the Class Dojo, tutors and supports after school activities, and spends time with her students outside the classroom. A parent remarks that Ms. Tyner “shows Justice to each student by giving them each what they need. The community of the school flows into her classroom.” In practice, home learning assignments are personalized. Each student receives a folder that contains text at their guided reading level, a comprehension activity based on their needs and a mathematics project or assignment.

Nancy Stewart, Imagine Schools 2017 National Teacher of the Year Finalist from Diane Beatty’s Group, teaches third grade at Imagine South Lake in Clermont, Florida. A loving presence in the classroom, Nancy employs creative hooks, literature, and activities to engage her students in higher order thinking and learning. She establishes a strong classroom community by modeling and living desirable character traits, all interwoven throughout each day’s instruction where lessons provide targeted practice. This tight alignment to grade level standards is evident through Nancy’s strong learning gains of an overall classroom gain of 1.08 in ELA and 1.05 in Math on the winter assessment.

High academic performance is only one of the many reasons parents request Ms. Stewart year after year. In fact, one of her parents stated, “My family has been fortunate enough to have had Mrs. Stewart teach all three of our children; one while in first grade and the other two in third grade. They benefited from her expertise as a teacher, but equally important they had a positive classroom experience because of her kindness, patience and caring.”

And when staff speak of Ms. Stewart, what do they have to say? One colleague describes her this way, “Students learn to be confident learners in a safe and comforting classroom. Nancy lights up the minute her students enter her room.”

Over the years, Nancy has served on Academic Growth, Economic Sustainability, and the Shared Values Committees. She was instrumental in organizing the school’s first family reading nights, the annual Gala events, and in helping initiate new staff to our Shared Values. She mentors new teachers and supports academic coaches in the New Teacher Roundtable on a monthly basis. Serving initially as a founding board member, and now a teacher for ten years with Imagine, her impact is vital.

Teachers at Imagine Schools encourage exploration, critical thinking, and the use of technology so students become successful in learning and life.

Teachers at Imagine Schools encourage exploration, critical thinking, and the use of technology so students become successful in learning and life.

 Karen Breitbart, Imagine Schools 2017 National Teacher of the Year Finalist from Rod Sasse’s Group, teaches kindergarten at Imagine Weston in the Gulf/Atlantic Region of Florida. Character Development is one of the main reasons she chooses to teach at Imagine Weston. For the past five years, Ms. Breitbart has drawn from that passion in serving on the Character Development Committee. She was also part of developing the original Character Development Report Card, which accompanies every academic report card. Additionally, Karen was a member of a task force that was nationally recognized as Imagine School of the Year for Character Development 2011 (co-winner) and 2012, and winner of the 2014 National School of Character.

Students in Ms. Breitbart’s class may be having a lot of fun every day due to exciting activities taking place such as “whack-an-answer” and “quiz/quiz/trade”, but during all of this fun, they have strong learning growth as evidenced by her data results. All students scored 80% or higher on the Go Math End pre/post assessment. With several weeks still remaining in the school year, the goal is to have all students scoring at least 90% when this final assessment is administered. Results from STAR Early Literacy are equally positive with nearly all students scoring at least 90% on the end of year Journeys reading assessment.

There are many reasons why Ms. Breitbart represents the many exceptional teachers in this group, from her leadership roles as grade chair and mentor to new teachers, to her committees and clubs she supports and leads. Probably it is best summed up by her school leader, Ms. Nadine Laham, “One of the most talented educators I have had the honor to work with, Karen Breitbart sits head and shoulders above most, not just in working with and producing students who are successful academically, but also in inspiring and developing great character in each one.”

Creativity and curiosity are just a few of the traits fostered by teachers at Imagine Schools.

Creativity and curiosity are just a few of the traits fostered by teachers at Imagine Schools.

 Adrienne Holmes Cleckley, Imagine Schools 2017 National Teacher of the Year Finalist from Shawn Toler’s Group, teaches third grade math and science at Imagine Foundations at Leeland, in Leeland, Maryland. Ms. Holmes Cleckley is dedicated to each of her third grade students by helping them identify areas of growth, using both formative and summative assessments to guide their instruction. Her students take ownership of their learning by graphing their gains and having discussions around desired areas for improvement. On the STAR Math winter assessment, 74.1% of her third graders scored at Benchmark and Advanced, with none of her students in the Urgent Intervention category.

Adrienne exudes warmth and passion. As chair of the Sunshine Committee, she is responsible for bringing joy in celebrations and weekly shout-outs. This same passion can be seen in her classroom instruction, where students are given inviting collaborative activities to dive deep into mathematical concepts. There, best practices of ample teacher wait-time, high level questioning and learning opportunities from student discovery are evident strengths of this top teacher.

One of Ms. Holmes Cleckley’s strengths is her understanding of the important role of clear, frequent communication to build strong parent partnerships. Her monthly newsletters highlighting the student and parent of the month are effective in keeping both students and parents interested in reading the entire newsletter. Postings of weekly assignments and messages on School Notes as well as weekly updates on ClassDoJo help ensure her communication is frequent and effective.

Congratulations to each of these outstanding teachers!

 

 

 

Comments 1

  1. Congratulations to both of you!! I’m sure you worked really hard this year, not to mention all the previous years under your belt!!

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