Stenson named l994 County Teacher of the Year

Tim Stenson, for 23 years a teacher at Los Robles High School in the juvenile court school system of the Santa Barbara County Education Office, was named 1994 Santa Barbara County Teacher of the Year. The announcement was made by County Superintendent of Schools Bill Cirone at the July 1 county  school board meeting.

Mr. Stenson, one of a number of outstanding countywide nominees for the honor, was selected by a five-person committee composed of teachers and representatives from PTAs  and school boards.

Superintendent Cirone expressed hearty congratulations for Mr. Stenson's work with special population children.

“This well-deserved honor for Tim, who is truly an outstanding teacher, is reason for all those who work with difficult populations of students to swell up with pride,"  Cirone said.

Born in Santa Barbara, Stenson attended local schools.  He has taught science, physical education, and has run peer and family counseling groups.  He is a former deputy probation officer in Santa Barbara County and worked as a youth counselor at the juvenile detention facility prior to teaching there.

He feels strong we must develop more quality educational programs for the at risk youth in our society who seem to fall through he cracks in our educational system.  “Local agencies such as probabtion, mental health, law enforcement and schools must work more diligently with one another to help the at risk student achieve educational success,” he said.

Stenson’s classroom is based on learning by doing.  At Los Robles High School he has his own weather station, conducts science fairs, has an annual rocket launch in which student construct and design their own model rockets.  With this latter activity they learn about inertia, gravity, mass, weight, momentum and apogee.

Stenson earned an AA degree from Santa Barbara City college, a B.A. in sociology from California State Long Beach, and an M.A. in education with an emphasis in guidance and counseling from Cal State Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo.   He has conducted science demonstrations in schools throughout the county to enhance teacher effectivness and promote student interest in hands-on science.

In 1985 he was selected as one of the first mentor teachers in the state of California and was reappointed for a second term.  In 1986 he earned a SPIFE internship, one of the 10 science industry interns from the tri-counties to explore the applicability of science in the workplace.  He is a member of the state department of education middle grade task force on a regional panel for science curriculum and received one of five federally funded Christa McAuliffe fellowship grants which he used to conduct a ten and a half month big brother followup program of minors released from Los Prietos Boys Camp.

Wrote Steve Powell, Director of the court and communtiy school program in which Tim services:  “Tim has such strength of character and dedication to young people that he has been responsible for turning around many students’ lives.  On occasion when he visits neighborhoods to follow up on a student, many other former students will greet him with affection, admiration, and respect... I believe him to be the quintessential teaching professional."

Wrote former principal and colleague Dave Williams:  “Tim has natural leadership ability and has used this ability to promote our educational program and to inspire other staff members to be creative and excel in their particular areas.’

Wrote resource teaching assistance Rebecca Duncan:  “He is the model I want to hold up for us to idol...He is solid and he is fresh...his sunny approach to each new morming sets the tone for the day.  He works with the least hopeful school population and maintains hope for them‘

Wrote County Superintendent Bill Cirone:  “All these examples illustrate Tim's impressive world view of education, his belief that you make your mark one student at a time, by focusing on the total child and providing a stimulating, challenging, and relevent curriculum as you can while you support and nurture the strengths of each individual.”

But perhaps Tims’s most meaningful praise, and the words he most cherishes, came from a former student who wrote this poem in his honor:

            “The Teacher"

When he talks to me
I always seem to listen
For he is the teacher
Someday I’ll surely miss him.

When I had a problem
He was always there
He never turned away
And let me have my say.

I learned a lot from him
And listened to his advice
I’ll use it in the future
More than once or twice.

If you get to meet him
Do your very best
For he is the teacher
And accepts nothing less.