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STEP alum wins state honor

Simone Spearman
Simone Spearman

STEP alum wins state honor

Santa Rosa teacher Simone Spearman (MA '95) has been named State High School Educator of the Year by the California League of High Schools.

CONTACTS:
Simone Spearman, English teacher, Piner High School
707-569-4046 (cell) or sspearman@srcs.k12.ca.us
Katie Winchell, director of communications, California League of High Schools
714-469-8837 (cell) or editor@clms.net

Images of Simone Spearman accepting the award and a copy of her Educator of the Year dinner speech are available from Katie.

SACRAMENTO–On Saturday, February 26, 2011, in front of an audience of 650 school teachers and administrators at the convention center, Simone Spearman, an English teacher at Piner High School, was named the California League of High Schools 2011 State High School Educator of the Year.

Shocked at the unexpected honor, Spearman gave a quick, heartfelt acceptance speech to the general session audience participating in the California League of Schools 2011 Annual Conference North. And then she did something kind of amazing. She included the six runners up for the title, asking each contender to name “a spirit you carry with you in your teaching.”  Thoughtfully, the other educators approached the microphone in turn to mention a parent, a third-grade teacher, a grandparent who had inspired them.

When asked later about the unusually gracious act, Spearman explained, “I had heard the other teachers share their stories and felt like it shouldn’t be me. Some of them had taught for 30 years, 35 years. For a teacher to commit his or her life to this position – there are too few moments like this. I wanted to share it.”

Spearman brings that same combination of grace and sensitivity to her work as a high school teacher, a journey that started back in high school on Bainbridge Island, Wash., when she heard her beloved teachers were involved in a dispute with the school board.  The young Simone attended a school board meeting and presented her argument that teachers should be respected and paid more. The experience sparked her interest in thinking of teaching as a profession—and of teachers as professionals.

Twelve years ago, as a new teacher fresh from Stanford University, Spearman embarked on the traditional Advanced Placement (AP) English teacher career path, ready to help high achieving students delve into literary analysis. But mentoring from a master teacher opened her eyes to the beauty of children from other countries grasping English for the first time.  Hooked, she obtained the training necessary to teach English as a Second Language (ESL).

Now Spearman teaches ESL classes to African teens from Eritrea and Hispanic teens from Mexico and Latin American countries. Many of these students eventually perform well enough to tackle AP classes alongside students who are native English speakers. “I see this raw hunger for English, for vocabulary,” she says. “I try to show my students the art that resides in words.”

Today 58% of the Hispanic students in Spearman’s AP Language classes pass the difficult year-end test granting college credit – an impressive showing given the average pass rate for all AP Language students in the U.S. is roughly 60%.

For Spearman, the meaning of the award didn’t really sink in until she returned to school.

“The biggest thing is coming back to Piner High School, and the kids are so proud. That is the neatest thing,” she says. “They’re saying, ‘We are the champions.’  For our staff this has been an infusion of happiness, especially now with the budget cuts. [If Governor Brown’s tax extensions are not approved] we’re looking at six furlough days, something like 20 full-time positions lost in the district, class sizes jumping, maybe closing the school library. We are so demoralized – we’re just getting crushed.”

Asked what message she would like to share with her community now that she has been chosen through two separate rubric-based processes led by panels of peers to be CLHS 2011 State High School Educator of the Year, Spearman says, “More parents need to get involved, to know exactly what is happening in their school district, to pay attention. School districts are being faced with really hard choices. Decisions are being made affecting kids in class. Losing a high school library, class sizes of 30 versus 40 – these are big changes. Do you let go new teachers because they don’t have tenure even though they might be doing fabulous job? These are dire times. I don’t know if parents understand how bad it is, but I hope they get involved. “

An excerpt from Spearman’s Educator of the Year Dinner speech:

“I am a teacher today because I am following my bliss. I am standing on a pyramid of souls stretching back hundreds of years. Some of these dear souls put aside their bliss because they were sacrificing their present, for my future. My grandmother was a domestic. She cleaned toilets and scrubbed floors so that her son and granddaughter could attend college and follow their bliss.

Every time I step in front of my students, I carry multiple souls with me. On the difficult days, where my students' eyes begin to wander or a trampled spirit wants to unload his anger upon the class, I beg these ancient souls to fill me with patience and creativity. On the good days, when a lesson achieves a grace I cannot fully explain, I feel the electricity of these ancient souls reaching out to touch and inspire the precious living souls in front of me.”

About the Award
The California League of High Schools High School Educator of the Year process originates in the 11 CLHS regions representing the state. Spearman was nominated by a colleague and originally chosen from among a group of peers to be the CLHS 2011 High School Educator of the Year for Region 1, which encompasses the counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino and Sonoma. At the California League of Schools 2011 Annual Conference North, held February 25-27, 2011, in Sacramento, she was chosen by the CLHS trustees from among the regional winners to be the CLHS 2011 State High School Educator of the Year.

About the California League of High Schools
CLHS (www.clhs.net) is a nonprofit membership organization serving high school teachers, administrators and support personnel throughout California by providing professional development and resources to improve teaching and learning. CLHS is the child organization of California League of Schools (www.leagueofschools.org).

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