[Noozhawk’s note: Part of a series on the teachers who will be honored Nov. 3 at A Salute to Teachers, presented by Cox Communications and the Santa Barbara County Education Office. Click here for a complete series index.]
Andy Osiadacz, a science teacher at the Academy for Success at Dos Pueblos High School in the Santa Barbara Unified School District, has been selected as a Distinguished New Educator.
He said he always envisioned a career in medicine, not education. After working with middle school students and teen boys through a youth outreach organization and coaching high school volleyball, he reconsidered his career path.
The Ventura native and graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo earned his teaching credential after moving to Santa Barbara.
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Osiadacz impressed his principal when he partnered with a special education teacher to provide inclusion services for students with disabilities.
“The fact that a relatively new teacher is enthusiastic about supporting students with disabilities and is open to collaborating with a co-teacher conveys Andy’s ‘whatever-it-takes’ approach to supporting all of our students,” Bill Woodard, the principal at Dos Pueblos High School, wrote in a letter of recommendation.
Besides his time in the classroom, Osiadacz coaches volleyball and chaperones at school functions. He also fed students during finals week, making pancakes for anyone needing sustenance before the science exam, according to colleague Megan O’Carroll.
Eight educators will be recognized Nov. 3 at A Salute to Teachers, an event hosted by Cox Communications and the Santa Barbara County Education Office.
Mandi de Witte of Carpinteria High School in the Carpinteria Unified School District has been named the 2019 Santa Barbara County Teacher of the Year.
Aniela Hoffman, a music teacher at Arellanes Junior High School in the Santa Maria-Bonita School District, will be honored as the 2019 Santa Barbara County Performing Arts Teacher of the Year.
Other distinguished new educators to be honored are Jacob West of Leonora Fillmore Elementary School in the Lompoc Unified School District and Katie Furden of Franklin Elementary School in the Santa Barbara Unified School District.
Distinguished mentors include Toni Roberts of Santa Ynez School in the College School District, Robin Ilac of Kermit McKenzie Intermediate School in the Guadalupe Union School District and Stephanie Gogonis of the Santa Ynez Valley Special Education Consortium.
In addition to Cox, the event is sponsored by Noozhawk, Anthem Blue Cross, Fielding Graduate University, Montecito Bank & Trust, the Santa Barbara Bowl and the SBCC Foundation.
Noozhawk Q&A
Noozhawk: Why did you decide to become a teacher?
Andy Osiadacz: I decided to become a teacher in the middle of getting my bachelor’s at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Although I initially wanted to pursue a career in the medical field, my ongoing work in youth outreach through an organization called Young Life and coaching high school volleyball made me realize I was considerably more passionate about working with young people.
Noozhawk: How long have you been teaching?
AO: I am going into my third year of full time teaching science. I spent one year at San Marcos High School, and I have been at Dos Pueblos High School for the past two years. I substitute taught for a year before earning my teaching credential.
Noozhawk: What is your favorite subject/lesson plan to teach your students?
AO: I start off the year with my Magic Box activity. Students are given a tall, rectangular wooden box with a funnel at the top and a spout at the bottom that they cannot see inside. Students are given the challenge of determining what is inside the box by observing patterns of what happens when they systematically pour water through the funnel. It is one of my favorite activities because our class gets to have a great discussion about the plurality of ideas, backgrounds and experiences that inform us about the natural world, and that through collaboration and learning through hypothesis and failure, we can get to know a little bit more about the universe we live in.
Noozhawk: What is your favorite part of being a teacher?
AO: Laughing with kids. If I can share a laugh with my students, I am doing something right.
Noozhawk: What are the challenges of your job?
AO: I really struggle with not taking my job too personally. I really take on my students’ misbehavior, lack of work ethic or failure personally. If my student fails a test or misbehaves, I often put the blame solely on myself for not being good enough for them.
Noozhawk: What are you most looking forward to this school year?
AO: I am looking forward to teaching with the Academy for Success at Dos Pueblos. I am in the second year of this program, where I have the privilege of teaching with some very excellent teachers to help support some of our neediest students at our site. I am really excited to see how our students are breaking bad habits and becoming the most stellar forms of their academic selves.
Noozhawk: Who are your mentors?
AO: I have no shortage of mentors. A lot of my colleagues have been there to support me and hear all of my crazy ideas. Michael Lynch, Megan O’Carroll, Chris Jones, Krista Finlay, Kelly Choi, Heather Magner, Rob Goettler and Jarrod Bradley have been very kind to me and have given me great feedback to help make my teaching better.
Additionally, Sue Johnson and Peggy Lubchenco taught me all I know about how to teach science both philosophically and pragmatically, and I lean on their principles to this day. Finally, my mom, Denise Osiadacz, has taught second grade for more than 25 years, and she has no shortage of helpful expertise. It turns out high-schoolers are not much different from elementary students, so her feedback has been really good for my practice.
Noozhawk: Who are the people in your life and work environment who support you every day?
AO: See above.
Noozhawk: How does it feel to be honored as part of the Salute to Teachers?
AO: It really is a great affirmation in a profession where you do not often get thanked or recognized all that often for what you do. It is something that I can look back on to encourage and remind myself that I am not the worst at what I do.
— Noozhawk special projects editor Melinda Johnson can be reached at mjohnson@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
