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Walter Bunning,
a science teacher at Righetti High School in Santa Maria for the past
15 years; Nea Voss Jackson, a science teacher at Goleta Valley Junior
High for four years; and Rosa Rodriguez, a third grade teacher at Canalino
School in Carpinteria for 26 years; were named 2002–03 Santa Barbara
County Distinguished Educators by County Superintendent of Schools William
J. Cirone. The announcement was made at a press conference June 6 at
the Santa Barbara County Education Office.
Distinguished Educators comprise a category formed to acknowledge outstanding
teachers in the Teacher of the Year awards program. "Walter Bunning,
Nea Voss Jackson, and Rosa Rodriguez exemplify what is best in our profession,"
said Superintendent Cirone. "We created the Distinguished Educators
award as a means of paying tribute to the successes and the dedication
the truly outstanding teachers display every day."
The award was created as an outgrowth of the annual county Teacher of
the Year award. This year, the selection committee, which included representatives
of teachers, administrators, PTAs, and school boards, expressed strong
feelings that the application and credentials of Bunning, Jackson, and
Rodriquez were clearly Teacher-of-the-Year caliber.
The committee members could only select one teacher to represent the
county for the State Teacher of the Year award; but members felt strongly
they should also acknowledge the excellence of these finalists.
"This is our way of publicly announcing how very grateful and proud
we are of their efforts and successes," said Mr. Cirone.
Chris Mullin, a teacher of social studies, Latin, and AVID at Santa
Ynez High School, was named County Teacher of the Year on May 2. He
will represent Santa Barbara County as a candidate for state Teacher
of the Year.
Walter Bunning
received a B.S. and a teaching credential from Cal Poly in San Luis
Obispo. He started teaching science and agriculture in Calistoga and
then taught vocational agriculture, science, and typing at Cuyama Valley
High School, from 1975 to 1986. He has taught computer programming,
general science, and physics at Righetti High since 1986.
Bunning worked with SCORE (Schools of California Online Resources for
Educators), writing curriculum and becoming a SCORE trainer. He was
past recipient of a district mentor grant in technology, trained four
student teachers, facilitated several technology training sessions,
and is a trained BTSA (Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment) support
provider. He has served as chair of the school’s science department
for six years, and served on numerous curriculum committees at both
the site and district level, including the district AIDS Task Force,
Curriculum Council, Individual Course Exit Exam committee; School Improvement
Program committee, and many others. He has been Level 3 (work-alone
status) Reserve Deputy Sheriff for 10 years, a member and trainer of
the county Sheriff’s Underwater Search and Recover Unite dive team,
a reserve firefighter, a trustee of the Cuyama Valley Elementary School
District board, president of the Cuyama Valley PTA, and chair of the
Cuyama Valley Recreation District Board.
Wrote principal Jim Armstrong: “Walt has consistently been a person
deeply concerned first with his students and their learning, his fellow
science colleagues, school-wide colleagues, and then for himself. …The
closeness, connectivity, and school-wide respect of our Science Department
stems from his communication and leadership skills. …Walt was one
of the first teachers at Righetti to move to the technology age. …His
wit and ease with students and adults, commitment to the teaching profession,
and love of what he does makes him an outstanding example for us all.”
Wrote UCSB’s Fiona Goodchild: “As a director of professional
development projects in science at UCSB I have benefited enormously
from the dedication, good sense, and expertise that Walt has provided
unselfishly to the Science Partnership for School Innovation (SPSI)
since 1994. ...Walt has been a pioneer in terms of using technology
to support teaching science. He discovered that computers can be valuable
for students who are not so successful in the traditional science classroom.
…He insists on high standards for his students in both science
and language arts, and he continually looks for opportunities to assist
second language learners in science. In his classroom, science activities
are a platform for learning a variety of skills that students need to
understand and communicate scientific ideas. …Most importantly,
Walt cares deeply about each and every student and believes that all
students can be successful in his classroom. He is a passionate and
skilled science teacher and a wonderful model for the teaching profession!”
Wrote Guadalupe’s Jeff Foote: “He brings together all the
essential elements of a professional teacher. …Walt is a model
for the kind of peer collaboration that is so vital for us to grow as
individuals, and to inspire each other to keep learning and creating.
…It is extremely rare to find the generous sharing of knowledge,
ideas, and enthusiasm in a persistent and progressive way year after
year. …Walt has a very high degree of content knowledge in all
of his teaching disciplines…he walks the walk. …Anyone who
has tried to fully work through the promise and perils of really using
technology to learn in new and better ways can appreciate what he has
done, and continues to build and refine as new innovations become possible.”
Nea Voss Jackson received her B.A. in biology from Cal State Northridge
and her teaching credentials and masters degree from UCSB. She began
teaching 7th and 8th grade math and science in Santa Paula and then
taught 10th and 12th grade math and science in Ojai at Chaparral Continuation
School. She has been teaching 7th and 8th grade science at Goleta Valley
Junior High in the Santa Barbara High School District since 1998.
Jackson was named UCSB’s Student Teacher of the Year in 1993-94
and Outstanding Educator for the Ojai Unified School District in 1997-98.
She has served on the Goleta Valley Junior High Leadership Team and
serves as science department chair and faculty senate president. Community
activities span a variety of organizations, including AYSO soccer, the
Community Environmental Council, C.R.E.W. (concerned Recourse Environmental
Workers), Friends of Gaviota Coast, JASON project, Sierra Club, and
Women Educators of Science and Technology, among others.
Wrote Assistant Principal Paul Turnbull: “She promotes higher-level
cognitive skills in an enjoyable classroom context. …Students of
all levels experience success in Ms. Jackson’s classes because
of her genuine love of science and her infusive affection for the individuals
she teaches. …Ms. Jackson is able to see the cyclical nature of
learning, and encourages her students to regularly present lessons on
the elements of science to a class of local kindergarten children; thus,
bringing diverse cultures, ages, and knowledge bases together in an
atmosphere that celebrates science. …Ms. Jackson also brings the
community into the classroom through her partnerships with environmentally
concerned groups. …She has also been a Master Teacher, providing
guidance and expertise to student teachers before they enter the teaching
profession. …She is a wife, a loving mother, an outdoor enthusiast,
and a committed professional. She is one of those rare teachers who
have both the insight to see the whole picture of education and the
ability to successfully act upon those insights.”
Wrote Principal Kristine Robertson: “Nea is an exceptional educator
who personifies all the professional attributes and qualities that are
expected, but rarely seen, in a classroom teacher. …She constantly
has her students actively engaged in the learning process so that they
are the teachers and she is the facilitator. …Her warmth and caring
for her students is clearly observed while she is working with them
and they are so disappointed when the bell rings because they have been
lost in the world of scientific discovery in her classroom. …Nea
is also actively involved with the UCSB Gevirtz Graduate School of Education
where she conducts workshops for pre-professionals and student teachers
in the classroom in order to promote teaching, and science, as an honorable
and worthy career pathway. …She has great insights, intuitiveness
about working with her subject matter as well as with children, and
a sense of humor that only brightens up the level of warmth and caring
she demonstrates towards her students.”
Wrote parent Tracy Bowen: “Her unique strength is in her ability
to motivate and inspire students to ask questions and think for themselves.
She recognizes individuality, values creativity, and fosters curiosity.
…As a parent I cherish the times my children have shared what they
learned in Mrs. Jackson’s class.”
Rosa Rodriguez received her B.A. in Spanish Literature, her certificate
as a bilingual, cross-cultural specialist, her elementary teaching credential,
and her master’s degree from UCSB.
Her teaching career has been spent in the Carpinteria School District,
first as a teacher at Aliso School for 12 years and then as a second
and then third grade teacher at Canalino School, for the past 26 years.
In 1985 she also served as director of the Migrant Education Summer
School Program run by the county education office.
Her professional development includes training in Madeline Hunter, Region
8 Reading Leaders, Geography and Mathematics through an Activity-Based
Program, FAST training, Oral J Training, a CTAP Level I Technology certificate,
transitional reading trainer, a Master Teacher since 1975 at UCSB and
Westmont, a CTIIP Fellow, an Impact II teacher, and a Carpinteria SIP
day facilitator. In multiple settings she has told her story to young
immigrants in the hope of being a role model for hard work and success.
She has also provided in-service training to parents and teachers.
Wrote former principal Mary Lynn Lamp: “I was in awe of, not only
the academic gains she made with disadvantaged low performing students,
but with the changes she affected in their attitudes about school, themselves,
and their learning. …Rosa has that ‘special something’
that goes way beyond impeccable teaching skills. She reminds me of a
fairy godmother who was sent to rescue all of the children…or,
maybe a modern day Pied Piper. …Parents and students clamor to
be in her class and after they leave they always come back to visit,
seek advice, or share accomplishments. …She is a walking example
of using multiple intelligences to get the best from students. …in
spite of Rosa making every student feel special, she sets high academic
and behavioral standards and expects her students to live up to them.
AND THEY DO! …She instills in her students that they are a work-in-progress
and that they always need to strive for excellence. …Her own words
are revealing: ‘Teaching is the center of my happiness; it’s
a thrill and a privilege to be with my students.’”
Wrote Principal Mariann Cooley: “Mrs. Rodriguez is a highly skilled
and talented teacher who makes learning and hard work fun in her classroom.
She instructs and motivates students to achieve greatness in the classroom
and beyond. She demands the best from all of her students and she gets
it. Her style is firm, yet loving, and all students feel the respect
she holds for each one of them. …She is a teacher who will always
step forward to assist whenever and wherever she is needed. She is a
seasoned teacher whose wisdom goes beyond her years.”
Wrote Principal Robert Keatinge: “I have known and worked closely
with Rosa for the last 27 years. During that time I have watched the
growth and development of one of the finest, most dedicated teachers
I have known. Her technical skills are second to none. …Her love
and dedication to her students place her above other teachers with similar
skills. …Rosa truly believes that her students can and will learn.
Her students show growth well above other students at their grade year
after year. She will not let them fail! I have three daughters that
had Rosa as their teacher. Each will tell you that she was their best
teacher. … She is one of a kind and her students and those that
know her are better for it.”
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