Connecting and Leading
Sarah Kirby-Gonzalez is a fifth-grade teacher in the Folsom Cordova Unified School District, and was named the district’s 2010 Teacher of the Year. Sarah is a National Board Certified Teacher, and also serves as the Transitional English Coordinator at her site, providing the second language students with interventions and programs to meet their needs. In 2008, Sarah earned her master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from California Sate University, Sacramento. Sarah is a Teacher Consultant for the Area 3 Writing Project at University California, Davis. She has been a History Day coach to her students since 2005 and was recently named Sacramento County History Day Teacher of the Year. Sarah was a participant in the Teaching American History Grant and attended the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute. This summer she will attend a seminar on Thomas Jefferson in Philadelphia, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Sarah also teaches a summer writing course to fourth and fifth grade students through the Academic Talent Search program at Sacramento State University, Sacramento. Accomplished California Teachers is proud to have Sarah as one of our newest members, and we are grateful to her for taking the time to respond to some questions for this guest blog post.How did you become a Teacher of the Year (TOY)?
In Folsom Cordova Unified School District (FCUSD) each school nominates one teacher of the year to represent their site. This is voted on in a secret ballot. Since our high schools represent a larger staff, they are able to nominate two candidates. All of these teachers are invited to interview for the district TOY. Prior to the interview, teachers submit their answers to a short questionnaire along with the reasons for recommendation from the site (usually the principal does this). The interviews are held during the school day, and last roughly twenty minutes.
