California lottery honors teachers

22 October 2007

SACRAMENTO, California -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- The California Lottery has always been a supporter of California's public schools, honoring the dedication and hard work of California's teachers. This week on "The Big Spin" show, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell and California Lottery Director Joan Borucki honor the five California Teachers of the Year for 2007. The show airs statewide Saturday, October 20, 2007.

California Department of Education's Teachers of the Year program began in 1972 as a way to pay tribute to California educators and the growing challenges they encounter year after year, and also to recognize these unsung heroes and their outstanding contributions to public education.

The first honoree is Dawna Countryman, a fifth grade teacher at Tesoro Del Valle Elementary School in Valencia. She has achieved great success in engaging her students in the process of learning in which she inspires the children through her dynamic teaching approach, positive learning environment, and enthusiasm for every lesson taught. The measure of success is the feedback she receives from her students who look forward to coming to class everyday and who have learned so much is her measure of success!

The next honoree is Rick LeVan, a Pre-Algebra, Life Science, and advanced studies teacher at Canyon Middle School in Yucaipa. Mr. LeVan feels that teachers should adapt their instruction to the ever-changing culture which makes his class different every year. As a young Air Force Officer, a flight instructor ordered him to never give up and he applies this credo to his life as well as his teaching. Mr. LeVan says, "There isn't anything that would ever make me give up on my students."

The third honoree is Charles Reynes, a fourth and fifth grade science specialist who divides his week among six different elementary schools in Alameda County. His enthusiasm, insight, and use of humor bring science to life. Mr. Reynes realizes that every student learns differently and he tries to adapt to every child's learning needs. He knows from personal experience what it is like to struggle through school and how having the guidance from a caring teacher could change a student's life. Mr. Reynes finds creative solutions for his students to learn even with all the adversity that confronts them.

Another very special teacher is Helen Papadopoulos, an Algebra teacher at Suzanne Middle School in Walnut. Ms. Papadopoulos loves to use humor to motivate and excite her students about math. She incorporates technology, collaboration, and singing to get the kids involved. Ms. Papadopoulos says, "We don't just learn math, we do math." She shows her students real life applications of Algebra so that they can see the tangible value of the concepts they are learning. The shrinking number of teachers in California concerns Ms. Papadopoulos and she hopes that her love and enthusiasm for teaching will make students eager to consider it as a career for themselves.

Our final honoree is Alan Sitomer, a GATE English teacher at Lynwood High School in Lynwood. He loves using hip-hop to get his students to relate to classic literature. Unfortunately, Mr. Sitomer was not able to attend the taping of The Big Spin show.

These five extraordinary teachers go above and beyond the call of duty and truly love the students that they teach. It is a great honor to present them with the California Teachers of the Year award for 2007.

The California State Lottery contributes at least 34 cents of every dollar that players spend on Lottery products to public education and returns more than 50 percent of sales to players in the form of prizes. Since its inception in 1985, the Lottery has contributed more than $20 billion to California schools out of total sales of more than $53 billion. Retailers win too, earning $3.4 billion in compensation since 1985.