On Thursday, 79 South Coast teachers were honored at the Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center in Santa Barbara for their completion of the two-year induction program of the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) Program.
The beginning teachers, their support providers and site principals, local board members and other district personnel joined the celebration, with a welcome by county schools Superintendent Bill Cirone.
Para Olympic athlete Samuel Nehemiah gave the keynote speech, stressing the tremendous impact teachers have had on his life, helping him overcome childhood polio in Nigeria to become a speaker and Olympic athlete.
From the Buellton Union School District, the honorees were participating teachers Andrea Babcock, Demory Brown and Kelley Carter and support providers Alison Brooks, Saundra Johnson and Maria Ellis.
Honored from the Carpinteria Unified School District were participating teachers Sarah Alexander, Heather Gallup, Eric Lewis, April Nuñez, Crysti Peritore, Jan Silk, Violet Stenger and Jessica Sullivan. Support providers were Susan Anderson, Marsha Ota, Dianne Paradis, Jan Shiells and Mary Anne Theilmann.
From the Cold Spring School District, participating teachers were Nicki Albair and Norma La Tuchie and support providers Jeanie Sickafoose and Janice La Tuchie.
Participating teacher Monica Hansen and support provider Marilyn Larsen were honored from the College School District.
In the Goleta Union School District, the honorees were participating teachers Adrianne Adam, Kelly Butler, Veronica Corral, Caren Hacki, Laura Harrington, Jessica Morgan, Shad Springer and Laura Sweeney. Support providers honored were Lois Brandts, Sheila Lunsford, Pam Rennick, Donna Talarico and Laurie Yarnell.
Honored from the Hope School District were participating teachers Kate Aldworth, Amanda Graybill, Jessica Groome and Melissa Warrick and support providers David Nelson, Isao Sugano and Adrian Usnick.
From Laguna Blanca, participating teacher Katherine Pointer and support provider Gabrielle Johnson were honored.
Honored from the Santa Barbara County Education Office were participating teachers Michon Baker and Eddie Torres and support provider Martha Castaneda.
Honored from the Santa Barbara Elementary District were participating teachers Nitin Anand, Sara Cocklin, Tim Eymann, Nohelani Gregory-Browne, Graciela Rodriguez and Marco Silva. Support providers were Marie-Christine Kannoglou, Lisa Kirwan, Maria Licén, Tricia Poelstra and Francine Steele.
From the Santa Barbara High School District, the honorees were participating teachers John Baker, Danielle Bean, Teresa Colunga, Ashley Cornelius, Bradley Escobar, Patrick Estes, Lauren Gleason, Rob Goettler, Lucy Lombardi, Katherine McLean, Anna-Lisa Odgers, Maureen O’Hagan, Katie Pelle, Maynard Pilapil, Jennifer Prewitt, Kirsten Sanft, Pavel Shabunin, Alex Sheldon, Jennifer Shultz and Teresa Spiteri. Support providers were Olin Bausback, Debra Bergstrom, Rick Ceriale, Beth Fusté, Kevin Gleason, Jean Hawthorne, Irene Kasai, Josie Martin, Evan Moore, Maureen Mullin, Tania Richter, Lauren Rodriguez, Rebekah Sillars and Lindsay Woodard.
From Santa Ynez Charter, participating teacher Arnie Bosshardt and support provider Mariann Cooley were honored.
From Santa Ynez Valley Union High School, participating teacher Jake Kalkowski and support provider Kim Merz were honored.
Honored from the Solvang School District were participating teachers Christy Heitmiller and Mindy Lambert and support provider John Padfield.
The Santa Barbara BTSA Induction Program is a program of the Santa Barbara County Education Office. The BTSA program provides a trained support provider for each beginning teacher. Together, they focus on lesson planning, student assessment and creating a successful learning environment for students in the beginning teacher’s classroom.
For more information about the Santa Barbara County BTSA Program, click here or contact Director Matt Zuchowicz at 805.964.4710, ext. 5426, or zuchowicz@sbceo.org.
Wendy Shelton is the director of communications for the Santa Barbara County Education Office.