[Noozhawk’s note: One in a series on the teachers who will be honored Nov. 2 at A Salute to Teachers, presented by Cox Communications and the Santa Barbara County Education Office. Click here for a complete series index.]
Michele Frantz, Santa Barbara County’s 2020 Teacher of the Year, takes nothing for granted.
Not only does she still heed advice from her dad to “decide what you want to wake up to every morning,” the longtime educator at Joe Nightingale School in the Orcutt Union School District is a tireless leader at her school and among her career peers.
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She’s also a cancer survivor.
Frantz was diagnosed with the disease in 2013. It took her three years to battle back, but she returned to teaching in 2016 and doctors have since pronounced her cancer-free.
Although she acknowledges the period as one of the hardest experiences in her life, she calls it a blessing that changed her for the better. Through her illness, she says, she discovered her own bliss was being in the classroom with her students.
Now in her 25th year as a professional educator, Frantz teaches early primary grades kindergarten through second grade, and serves as a teacher on special assignment supporting her colleagues in English Language Development and intervention.
She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and is a member of numerous professional associations, including the California Reading Association, CUE (formerly Computer-Using Educators) and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Frantz strongly supports social emotional learning, believing that all students need to be accepted, empowered, know and believe that they can make their world better and accomplish their dreams in life. She strives to build relationships with each student and family.
Eight educators will be recognized Nov. 2 at A Salute to Teachers, an event hosted by Cox Communications and the Santa Barbara County Education Office at the Music Academy of the West in Montecito.
Bree Jansen, a dance, choreography and cheerleading teacher at Lompoc High in the Lompoc Unified School District, will be honored as the 2020 Santa Barbara County Performing Arts Teacher of the Year.
Distinguished new educators to be honored are Anthony Bruemmer of Santa Ynez School in the College School District, Melanie Thatcher of Miguelito School in the Lompoc Unified School District and Michael Wallace of El Camino Junior High School in the Santa Maria-Bonita School District.
Distinguished mentors are Marith Parton of Carpinteria Middle School in the Carpinteria Unified School District, Marilyn Tilley of Battles School in the Santa Maria-Bonita School District and Amy Willis of Los Olivos School in the Los Olivos School District.
In addition to Cox, Salute to Teachers 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?
Michele Frantz: A simple conversation with my dad is why I chose teaching. My father was a Vietnam War veteran and a lifelong sheet metal worker. He had simple advice for me when I was choosing a major of study at Cal Poly. He said, “Michele, you get to decide what you wake up to every morning. Whatever it is, just make sure that you enjoy what you do and you want to go to work every morning.”
I chose teaching because I knew it was something I would want to “wake up to” every morning.
Noozhawk: How long have you been teaching?
MF: I am currently in my 25th year of teaching.
Noozhawk: What is your favorite subject or lesson plan to teach your students?
MF: I do not have a favorite academic subject to teach, I just love teaching students.
For me, everything starts with the relationships I establish with my students. Each smiling face is special to me, and I do everything I can to build a personal rapport with each child. I delight in the progress my students make on nonacademic fronts: behavioral, social and attitudinal.
It is my goal that students in my class know they are loved and cared about, experience success, and learn to believe in themselves.
Noozhawk: What is your favorite part of being a teacher?
MF: There are many things that I enjoy about teaching, but what I love most is that every day and every year is different. Each year, I get a new group of students who have different interests, motivations, strengths and challenges. As an educator, it is through these changes that I grow and develop as a teacher.
Noozhawk: What are the challenges of your job?
MF: One of the current challenges we all face is in the content load we are asked to teach relative to the scarce amount of time we have — 180 school days. How do we teach all of that while also being attentive to relationships and nonacademic needs?
The answer to all of this, in my view, is teacher collaboration. Teacher collaboration requires teams taking collective responsibility for students — “our” students, not “your” and “my” students — and is the only vehicle for tackling these challenges.
Noozhawk: What are you most looking forward to this school year?
MF: I am most looking forward to continuing to develop a sense of community — family — in our classroom. I am excited to watch my students grow and develop as I get to know them more closely, to discern what makes them tick, and to convey to them unconditional acceptance and love.
Noozhawk: Who are your mentors?
MF: I am incredibly lucky to have had many colleagues who have mentored me throughout my years teaching.
Specifically, I am thankful to my former principal and current assistant superintendent, Dr. Holly Edds, for seeing qualities of leadership in me that I didn’t even see in myself. She encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and guided me through the unknown.
I am also grateful to Kate McInerney, who was my “daytime spouse” and team teaching partner for many years before becoming my current principal. She helped me develop many of the tools and strategies that I use with students today.
Noozhawk: Who are the people in your life and work environment who support you every day?
MF: I am blessed to have an incredible support system of family and friends in both my personal and work life. I am incredibly blessed by the support of my wonderful family, including my husband, Mark, of 20 years; my children, Max, Mia and Miles; my parents; and extended family.
I have been lucky to have taught at Joe Nightingale Elementary School, where I have worked alongside many incredible teachers throughout the years. Currently, I am part of an incredible professional learning community with my first-grade colleagues, April Harrison and Megan Stein. During the past three years, they have helped me grow and become a better teacher though our collaborative work teaching all of the students in our grade level.
Noozhawk: How does it feel to be honored as part of the Salute to Teachers?
MF: There are truly no words that I could say that would express how deeply honored I am to even be a part of the Salute to Teachers. I was a teacher on special assignment for several years, and in that role I had the opportunity to work with teachers from my district, Orcutt Union School District, and throughout Santa Barbara County.
I know what incredibly dedicated and hardworking teachers we have serving the students of Santa Barbara County and it is humbling to recognized among them. I am deeply proud to be part of a profession that has such a profound effect on our youth and the future.
Noozhawk: Is there anything else you wish to share?
MF: This experience as Santa Barbara County Teacher of the Year has, in many ways, made me feel like a student myself, as I have had to be reflective of my practice, experience the unknown, explain my thinking and call on my courage.
It has been an honor and a pleasure to have been able to work with the wonderful team at the Santa Barbara County Education Office. I am grateful for their incredible support.