SBCSS News and Press Releases

County Teachers Of The Year To Be Honored In October

2009-09-10

SAN BERNARDINO - Three San Bernardino County Teachers of the Year will be honored by the San Bernardino County Board of Education at its meeting on Oct. 5.

Honorees include Angie Bubb, a fourth-grade teacher at Mojave Vista Elementary School in the Victor Elementary School District; Tracy Hofmann, a fifth-grade teacher at Virginia Primrose Elementary in the Fontana Unified School District; and Valesca Lopez, a seventh- and eighth-grade science teacher at the new Mesa View Middle School in the Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District.

"I am extremely proud of these teachers, who represent the very best of the more than 19,000 teachers in San Bernardino County," County Superintendent Gary Thomas said. "We all can applaud their accomplishments in helping our students reach their academic potential."

The Teacher of the Year reception will take place during the board's meeting at the Roy C Hill Education Center, 601 N. E St. in San Bernardino.

The three teachers were nominated by their individual districts and reviewed by a panel of county administrators who made the final selections. Representing more than 19,000 teachers in San Bernardino County, Bubb, Hofmann and Lopez will compete in the California Teacher of the Year event.

Bubb, who has been a teacher at Mojave Vista Elementary for the past 20 years, has been teaching fourth grade at the school for the past 18 years. She sums up her philosophy on teaching: "As a teacher, I work to create an atmosphere of learning, as well as belonging. Students come to school every day knowing they are important parts of our class." Martha McCarthy, principal at Mojave Vista, said Bubb produces outstanding results with all of her students. "While she is particularly sensitive to the individual needs of all students, she sets high standards and holds them accountable for meeting these expectations," McCarthy said.

Hofmann has been a teacher for 12 years and has spent the last six years teaching a fifth-grade class at Primrose Elementary. "Keeping my class lively not only enhances my students abilities to better master standards, but it shows them learning can be fun," Hofmann wrote in her nomination about her teaching philosophy. Primrose Principal Darlene Duquette said Hofmann's interaction with her students keeps them engaged in learning. "(Tracy) keeps herself accountable to make certain all students have access to the core curriculum, and that it is taught to best suit their needs," Duquette said.

Lopez, who has been a teacher for 32 years, was an eighth-grade science teacher at Park View Middle for the past seven years prior to moving to the newest school site in the Yucaipa-Calimesa District. "I sincerely believe building positive relationships with students to be the foundational cornerstone of effective teaching," Lopez wrote about her teaching philosophy in her nomination. Her principal at Mesa View, Jeff Litel, said Lopez has dedicated her life to the profession of educating children. "Valesca strives daily both at school and through various community-based venues to work with youth, and I especially appreciate her calling to work with young adolescent students," Litel wrote in his nomination of Lopez.

The California Teachers of the Year will be announced in November and will be honored by the State Board of Education. The State Teachers of the Year will be forwarded to the National Teachers of the Year program.