Finalists named for county Teacher of the Year

Reading is fun at Tyler Heights Elementary School in Annapolis because, students say, their librarian, Paula Hendry, picks out books just for them.

"She'll be like, 'Hey, you'll like this book,' " said Brandon Brown, 9. "She knows it makes people more smarter to read."

For her excellent taste in books, and for myriad other reasons, Hendry was named one of the four finalists for the county Public School Teacher of the Year yesterday. The others are:

Donna McCallister, a language arts teacher at George Fox Middle School in Pasadena.

Helen Mihm, a science teacher at Crofton Middle School.

Marianne Shultz, the athletic director at Northeast High School in Pasadena.

They were chosen out of 44 public school teachers nominated.

Two finalists for the Private School Teacher of the Year award also were named yesterday:

James Roberson, a teacher at St. Andrew's United Methodist Day School.

Christine Shea, a teacher at The Summit School.

Both schools are in Edgewater.

A nine-member panel of educators, students and local business leaders will now choose the winners. They will be announced at an awards dinner April 23, and the public school teacher will go on to represent Anne Arundel County in the competition for state Teacher of the Year.

Early yesterday morning, officials - including schools Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell and Karen Swisher, director of business development for the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce, which co-sponsors the awards dinner - visited the four public school finalists to deliver flowers and congratulations.

At Tyler Heights, Principal Faye Daniel said Hendry was nominated for her remarkable progress in getting children to use Accelerated Reader, a program in which students read books, take quizzes on them, and then get rewards like ice cream parties and a pool party at the end of the year.

Hendry said that when she arrived as a library media specialist at Tyler Heights seven years ago, hardly any students read chapter books, but now even first-graders are striving to read them.

"Kids are reading books as they walk down the hall," Daniel said.

Hendry taught middle and high school science for 20 years before she came to Tyler Heights, and said that because she loves reading to children, her current position is a perfect fit.

"Working with kids is just the most meaningful thing because it's not just a job," Hendry said. "And kids are just the greatest. They're the best part."

At Crofton Middle School, seventh-grader Selena Lanchipa said students like being in Helen Mihm's science class because she's clear about directions, goes out of her way to help students, and smiles.

"She makes us understand what we're doing," said Selena, 13. "Her personality is so bright."

Before becoming a teacher 14 years ago, Mihm was an environmental scientist and a consultant in water quality for the Environmental Protection Agency. She said she likes teaching science experiments to her students and watching them learn.

Sharon Hansen, principal at Crofton Middle, said Mihm's strengths are in knowing the curriculum forward and backward, and building relationships with her students so she knows how each of them learns.

Donna McCallister has been teaching language arts at George Fox Middle School for five years; previously she was a reading resource teacher at Bates Middle School in Annapolis. She's also the head of the language arts department, and her principal, Kevin Dennehy, said she was nominated for the award in part because she has a hand in everything that goes on at her school.

"It's her enthusiasm and willingness to do things," he said.

McCallister, who just received her National Board Certification, said she always wanted to be a teacher; when she was a little girl, she pretended to teach lessons to her baby dolls. And she particularly wanted to teach reading because, when she was a student, she had trouble learning to read.

"I love learning and I love to share that with other people," McCallister said.

And at Northeast High, Principal Kathy Kubic said Athletic Director and physical education teacher Marianne Shultz has won over her students and colleagues alike.

"She's just the heart of the school," Kubic said. "She's everyone's mom."

Over 11 years at Northeast, Shultz created an athletic hall of fame and a varsity club, which is a community service club for varsity athletes. She is often the first person to arrive in the morning and the last to leave at the end of the day, her administrators said.

In moments between teaching her sports medicine class to wrap ankles yesterday, she said her favorite part of the job is watching her students when what they're learning clicks.

"It's the excitement when they get it," she said. "When they accomplish it, their faces light up."

While wrapping an ankle, junior Nick Dilonardo, 16, said Shultz is there for her students. She'll help them with any problems they encounter, in or out of school.

"She dedicates her life to all the kids," he said.

Teacher of the Year nominees

The following public school teachers have been nominated for the county's Public School Teacher of the Year award:

• Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center — Anne Marie Dammeyer.
• Arnold Elementary — Kathleen Smith.
• Arundel High — Diane Kirk.
• Broadneck High — John Leitner.
• Brock Bridge and Park elementary schools — Michele Russo.
• Chesapeake High — Karen Simmons.
• Crofton Meadows Elementary — Bonnie Weinhold.
• Crofton Middle — Helen Mihm.
• Edgewater Elementary — Laura Liccione.
• Ferndale Early Education Center — Faith Culp.
• Fort Smallwood Elementary — Kelly Sienkiewicz and Carrie Weimer.
• George Fox Middle — Donna McCallister.
• George T. Cromwell Elementary — Denise Lane.
• Glen Burnie High — Jessica Bounelis-Woods.
• Hillsmere Elementary — Kelly Fortune.
• Jacobsville Elementary — Judith Schmid.
• Lake Shore Elementary — Jennifer Boswell.
• Lindale Middle — Michele Brown.
• Linthicum Elementary — Desiree Hartman.
• Marley Elementary — Kimberly Bibeault.
• Marley Middle — Melissa Carter.
• Meade High — Rebecca Goss.
• Millersville Elementary — Terry Halstad.
• North County High — Renee Stout.
• Northeast High — Marianne Shultz.
• North Glen Elementary — Amanda Salveron.
• Oakwood Elementary — Stacey Swingle.
• Old Mill High — Cathy Wiley.
• Quarterfield Elementary — Kimberly Miller and Alyssa Wiles.
• Richard Henry Lee Elementary — Tara Rose.
• Severn Elementary — Donna Resnick.
• Severna Park High — Elaine Robertson.
• Severna Park Middle — Judith Crawford.
• Shady Side Elementary — Jennifer Sturgell.
• Solley Elementary — Cathy Strickler.
• Solley, Sunset and West Annapolis elementary schools — Sandra Bryant.
• Southern High — Stacey Smith.
• Southgate Elementary — Lindsay Dyer Sapp.
• South River High — Ryan Sackett.
• Tyler Heights Elementary — Paula Hendry and Quinn Swain.
• Windsor Farm Elementary — Shavaun Hawkins.

The following private school teachers were nominated for the county's Private School Teacher of the Year award:

• St. Andrew's United Methodist Day School — James Roberson.
• St. Philip Neri Catholic School — Ellen Pultro.
• The Summit School — Christine Shea.

The following business and community partners will be honored at the awards dinner for their involvement with schools:

• Balanced Life Skills
• Barnes & Noble
• Bowie Baysox
• Cheeseburger in Paradise
• Delegate Nicholaus Kipke
• Development Facilitators, Inc.
• Gold's Gym Crofton
• La Fontaine Bleue
• Ledo Pizza
• Manekin, LLC
• Northrop Grumman
• PNC Bank
• Regal Decision Systems, Inc.
• Reilly Benefits, Inc.
• Sidus Group
• Toyota Motor Sales USA, Central Atlantic Region
• Under Armour

Source: Anne Arundel County Public Schools