Jeff Baldo
Servite High School
“It is a blessing to be part of a community that allows its teachers to make their classrooms their own unique learning environment for students. … This nomination is truly a celebration of all of the amazing people in my life.”
After a stint in the film industry, Jeff Baldo discovered his true calling in teaching. Beginning as a geometry teacher at Servite in 2007, Baldo has consistently sought to make not only his classroom better but also the entire school. In his time at Servite, he began a successful film studies program, got the school’s first hockey team off the ground, improved math scores as the department chair, mentors new faculty, and founded, fundraised and endowed the St. Juliana Fund, an emergency fund to support teachers experiencing a crisis. Whether it is with his students or for the whole school community, Baldo seeks new ways and initiatives to provide a top-notch education and student experience. Students seek out his courses because they know that his high expectations, logical and clear presentation of the materials, and his sharp wit are the ingredients for a tried-and-true recipe for success.
Carla Chun
Red Hill Lutheran School
“I was so surprised and overwhelmed to receive this nomination, especially because I have a more unusual teaching role than many. I am passionate about my job of teaching Resource, GATE and Art. … I just try to spark that fire or fan the flames for my students.”
Carla Chun possesses a prodigious palette of abilities, enriching the entire learning community. Her colorful palette reflects her abilities as an artist, activist, advocate, collaborator, creator, learner, leader and mentor. Chun’s fine arts degree and experience teaching across grades and subjects delivers rich art experiences to elementary and middle school students through an exploration of great artists. To support social-emotional learning, students worked on self-portraits to help process pandemic feelings. As a supporter of Mary’s Kitchen in Orange, she models activism and philanthropy both in the local community and to students, as they work to provide food to those in need. She’s also a resource teacher, working with families to support students with learning needs, utilizing Response to Intervention and study skills classes for students who need support. For enrichment, she meets students in small groups, using strategies of depth and complexity to develop advanced thinking and multiple perspectives.
Gregg Colbert
Santiago Hills Elementary
“This recognition is an extreme honor and I am humbled. It validates the hard work it takes to develop relationships with students, help them to persevere, motivate them to reach beyond, and having them look forward to coming [to] school each and every day.”
Not only is he known for his popular puns, hilarious life stories, riddles and morning music, but Gregg Colbert’s passion for teaching inspires the sixth-graders in his classroom. CIPSCT (Creativity, Imagination, Problem-Solving, Critical Thinking, pronounced sip-skit) is just one of many programs Colbert developed. Other programs include 6th Grade Business Day (students run their own booth and offer games/challenges for other grade levels), an epic field trip to Raging Waters, White Elephant Gift Exchange and Academic Quest (scavenger hunt driven by solving riddles around school). These students are self-motivated to submit their homework on time to ensure their participation in such fun activities. People passing by the school may just see a plain blacktop area with a couple tables outside the sixth-grade portables, but Colbert’s students happily enter “The Outback” — their happy space to innovate and collaborate. Colbert’s positive energy is a force that students absorb as well as emit throughout the year.
Kelly Harris
Gordon H. Beatty Middle School
“This is an unexpected honor. It takes a team to see and hear our students. Beatty Middle School staff members are the true heroes here.”
Dedicated, kind, passionate, hardworking, knowledgeable, friend, student advocate are just a few of the words that students, colleagues and parents use to describe Kelly Harris. Always the first to volunteer for the good of the school community, Harris brings over 22 years of expertise to her seventh- and eighth-grade English students. She utilizes strategies in her classroom to ensure that her students build relationships, learn to work as a team, share, speak up and think critically. She also serves as the coordinator of the school’s Beatty Chess Club and has helped to develop a school-wide reading initiative. Harris strives to meet the needs of all of her students, and is a champion of the under-performing student. During the pandemic, she created an after-school reading program to support struggling readers using Zoom and was able to see students make one or more years of reading growth. Harris can be found at any and all school events volunteering her time and can always be counted on to go above and beyond for her students and the school community.
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Veronica Krause
Maple Elementary School
“I’ve had the privilege of teaching for 19 years and every year I am granted the opportunity to help my students dig deep, work hard and attain their personal best. The families I’ve met along the way and the relationships I’ve established with my students have motivated me to grow as an educator.”
Veronica Krause spends time getting to know each of her students really well in order to build trust, foster a positive relationship, and plan lessons and projects meant to engage all of her students. She expertly infuses culturally responsive teaching and learning throughout the school day, which builds on her extensive knowledge of students’ cultural backgrounds, life experiences and interests. Krause develops independent learners, who are capable of driving their own learning. Though Veronica had a class with an unusually high number of difficult students last year, she volunteered to “loop” with those students this year — thereby teaching the same group of students for two years in a row. She volunteered to do this, because she had invested so much time in molding these students into a caring, scholarly community of learners, and she knew she was best equipped to lead these students through the unknowns of the pandemic.
Not only is he known for his popular puns, hilarious life stories, riddles and morning music, but Gregg Colbert’s passion for teaching inspires the sixth-graders in his classroom. CIPSCT (Creativity, Imagination, Problem-Solving, Critical Thinking, pronounced sip-skit) is just one of many programs Colbert developed. Other programs include 6th Grade Business Day (students run their own booth and offer games/challenges for other grade levels), an epic field trip to Raging Waters, White Elephant Gift Exchange and Academic Quest (scavenger hunt driven by solving riddles around school). These students are self-motivated to submit their homework on time to ensure their participation in such fun activities. People passing by the school may just see a plain blacktop area with a couple tables outside the sixth-grade portables, but Colbert’s students happily enter “The Outback” — their happy space to innovate and collaborate. Colbert’s positive energy is a force that students absorb as well as emit throughout the year.
Sheila Moeller
Tustin High School
“Being recognized by my peers and administration in this trying time is both encouraging and humbling. I am grateful to get to work at a school that supports taking risks, and with co-workers who are so supportive; without my team, I couldn’t do what I do.”
Sheila Moeller is a fixture at Tustin High School, having taught there for 20 years. In that time, she has shown incredible passion and compassion for students. Whether it is in an honors class or a class designed to support the most vulnerable learners, Moeller is a positive force among her students. You might even catch her standing in front of her classroom welcoming and encouraging students as they enter. She teaches with enthusiasm and passion, while making sure to implement the latest technology and graphics so students have the best opportunity to learn not only the information, but the concepts. She has been known to buy all kinds of supplies and athletic equipment for students and staff whenever she learns of a need. She also volunteers regularly at an animal shelter, where she brings students from Tustin High School as part of a club on campus.
Heather Porretta
Fairmont Preparatory Academy
“I work with a fabulous group of students, wonderful colleagues and supportive administration and staff. I’m proud of what we accomplish at Fairmont Prep and I think the nomination speaks to the team I’m on, not just me.”
Heather Porretta started her career at Fairmont over 25 years ago as a student services team member and currently serves as the Prep Academy’s Social Science Department chair and faculty liaison. In Porretta’s tenure, she has taught junior high through high school students in all social science classes and currently teaches AP US History and AP Government to juniors and seniors. Anyone who interacts with Porretta knows that she is consistent, thorough, fair and very funny. She listens and hears the needs of those around her. She leads the Academic Council, which is the voice of the campus, comprised of all department chairs and campus leadership. Porretta is also the person other teachers go to for help with their grade books, trouble-shooting, problem-solving and advice. She always has a pulse on how everyone is doing, recognizes successes and helps untangle any problems that arise.
Amanda Reimer
Heritage Oak Private Education
“I have a deep love for teaching, for my students, and for creating a family environment in my classroom, so it is incredibly meaningful for that to be reciprocated through this nomination.”
In 2011, third-grade teacher Amanda Reimer was pregnant with her second son while her husband, Kirk, was deployed with the U.S. Air Force in Afghanistan. With a toddler at home and a bumpy road ahead, this situation was no picnic, but as a seasoned military wife and the daughter of a nurse and a military engineer, “grace under fire” has always been the name of her game. When the pandemic hit, Reimer activated her same “we can do it” mentality and in a matter of days, crafted a robust, resource-laden online curriculum that left parents, students and school administrators in awe. As Heritage Oak’s academic program returns to normalcy, Reimer has integrated STEM elements and analytical thinking into lessons in a captivating way. Her students’ success and positivity are just one example of how her can-do mindset and nurturing ways are demonstrated on campus.
Karla Turner
San Joaquin Elementary School
“I pour my heart and soul into my profession to give my students the confidence they need to believe in themselves. … Being a teacher is truly a labor of love and I am deeply touched to have been recognized.”
“Bonjour friends” is a phrase you might hear upon entering Karla Turner’s classroom — along with “cómo estás” from time to time. These would be the norm at high school language class, but Turner strives to make it the norm in her elementary classes whether she is teaching third grade or a fourth- and fifth-grade combo. As she instructs her students in a standards-based core curriculum, she also celebrates the various languages spoken at the school by enhancing her students’ learning environment. This year she is voluntarily designing and leading the Cultural Celebrations initiative. She has also been the AVID (Achievement Via Individual Determination) Program coordinator for the past several years and helps mentor staff in utilizing AVID strategies in the classroom with their students. Turner is also consistently engaging students using the school-wide PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Support) program called PAWS. She is always on the lookout to reward students for behaving the correct way and making positive choices.
By Jessica Peralta, Madison Amirehteshami and Jeseny Escobar
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