Pasco announces teacher of the year finalists

It's that time of year when the Pasco Education Foundation recognizes the county's top school district employees. The teachers usually get all the press, but the group also honors administrators, school-related personnel and nonbargaining, noninstructional workers.

The finalist lists are now out, with the winners scheduled to be announced on Jan. 24. Here they are:

Teacher of the year (from left above): I. David Berger, English teacher, Land O'Lakes High School; Kathryn Bylsma, science teacher, John Long Middle School; and Stephanie Walls, language arts teacher, Pine View Middle School (see short biographies)

Administrator of the year: Steve Knobl, principal, Gulf High School; Ken Miesner, principal, Richey Elementary School; Terry Rhum, director, employee relations.

SRP of the year: Kelly Frasier, clinic assistant, Wesley Chapel Elementary School; Donna Lyons, secretary, Mary Giella Elementary School; Tracy Sanderson, secretary, Lacoochee Elementary School.

NNB of the year: Beverly Lopata, food and nutrition training manager; Leroy Christopher, plant manager, Stewart Middle School; DeEtte Parrish, bookkeeping resource assistant; Theresa Schuldt, secretary, maintenance department.

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Comments

[Baby Jane 'Hudson']

My congratualtions to all of the teacher finalists!

By the way, who came in 1st place in the swimsuit competition category?

[moon]

It is truly sad to see the anger and resentment that this post includes. Male, female, whatever, people who have chosen a career in teaching our children and putting in the long hours only to be humiliated and berated by ignorant people who think they know anything about education is exactly why we are in the situation we are in
Were the teachers from back in the day when it was a noble profession really that superior? Did they have the education, training, and accountability that the teachers of today have? Half day kindergarten with a nap sure and show & tell brought out the best in education. Today children are reading at that age and it is what is expected.
Respect teachers, respect authority, and live by the golden rule. If you do that, you won't be so angry.

[!?]

Funny how educators often complain how tax payers demand something for nothing yet they demand the same from their leaders!?

[Center For The Preservation of Single-Gendered Teachers]

Former TOY:

Hermaphrodite teachers? We really must draw the line somewhere. Slippery slope TOY, slippery slope!

[K]

As a former student, I can say that Mr. Berger is probably one of the best teachers I have ever come across. He provides a wide variety of material, and really makes you want to work hard and strive for perfection. I know that I would not be doing as well in college if it were not for him. I hope you win!

[Former TOY]

First of al, why anybody is wasting their energy on the first post is behind me since it makes pretty much NO sense and is irrelevant to the point of the award. (I had to read it several times, asking myself what is the point and still am not sure.) I was at an after school meeting when I read it and pointed the post out to a few colleagues who also shook their heads in confusion about the point trying to be made. Actually they laughed out loud!

Secondly, the poster is misinformed about a "male" being "thrown into the mix" each year. If you look back at the finalists from year to year there is NOT always a male included. As a former winner of the award, I was nominated with two other female teachers my year. There are many years where this is the case.

Congratulations to ALL of the finalists for jobs well done (no matter if you are male, female, transgendered, hermaphrodite, young, old, Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, ,,,) It TRULY is an honor to be nominated in this underpaid, overworked, disrespected profession!

[Teri with an i]

9:35 your sexism is showing. Your perspective is just as wrong and biased as men who think women shouldn't earn the same as them. Instead of seeing three people- you find a cause to spew your feminazi rants over. Get a life.

Great to see so many female nominees in the secretarial pool, the school clinic and even the maintenance department.

And whoa, the women from the kitchen didn't do so bad either.

What is there to complain about?

It is sweet that students are rushing to the defense of their teacher, but the comment was not about Mr. Berger. I do not know him.

The comment was about the bigger picture: why aren't women recognized for their good work?

Why are all of the administrators of the year male? Steve, Ken and Terry with a y, not an i.

Wait, before you tell me, let me guess. The women made choices in their careers. They simply did not want to be in charge or make more money.

Mr. Berger may indeed be a fine teacher. I just don't think statistically, men are better teachers than women nor do I believe they outperform women in their chosen field. Yet, the number of men nominated for such awards and the number of men in supervisory positions suggests that men do indeed, outperform women nearly 3:1.

It's just not true.

It's also not just Pasco. It's all over.

And Fact Checker, I agree with your statement:
"...It's a shame that one cannot be recognized simply for being good at what one does without thinking that there may be ulterior motives."

Sadly, for women most people believe their "motive" to become a teacher is to have time to raise their kids. Yet, when a male chooses to teach it's because they are committed role models making serious careers out of educating young people. Women are just serving as wet nurses until their own children come along.

I too, wish ALL teachers can be recognized for their serious commitment to the profession-without second guessing their ulterior motives. Both individually and statistically.

[Fact Checker]

*whether* (oops)

[Fact Checker]

Dear Anonymous,

Weather you are spewing gender hate or not, you should not just blindly dismiss an obviously well respected teacher as a "token" simply because he statistically "shouldn't exist."

It's a shame that one cannot be recognized simply for being good at what one does without thinking that there may be ulterior motives.

Sometimes, math does not fit all situations.

[Student of said Male-Teacher]

David Berger happens to be the best teacher I had as a student, at Land O Lakes or otherwise. The comment about male teachers is entirely uncalled for and I believe Mr. Berger deserves an apology. I also hope that he wins Teacher of the Year, but I won't blindly say that there is no way they should be in the running.

[Renae]

The first comment angers me GREATLY. When I was in high school, Mr. Berger was my English teacher. He was the only teacher who was ever able to stir that something inside of me and actually, truly MOTIVATE me to do something. He was, and still is, my favorite teacher that I've EVER had, among countless other female teachers.

If you had ever known Mr. Berger, anonymous poster, you would see that he truly enjoys his work, and honestly cares about all of his students. I was able to see that, and didn't judge him just because he happens to be male.

It just enrages me to hear that someone thinks that they just "threw in" a man. Mr. Berger deserves this as much as anyone else (possibly even more, in my opinion, although I'm slightly biased), and I'm surprised that someone who has enough motivation to post a comment to this article would post one so sexist in nature.

Thank you for posting the study fact checker. In my neck of the woods less than 10% of teachers are male. Other districts post statistics with just 2% of their teachers being male.

Find a national study that shows more than 25% of all K-12 teachers are male and I'll be impressed.

And, by your own statistics the guy shouldn't exist. There are three finalists. Go back and check your winners and see if they proof statistically.

Not spewing hate, just thinking mathematically.

Oh, well if the good 'ol boy was center of his high school basketball team, well then he must be teacher of the year material.

[witamins]

Mr. Miesner's got my vote. He's an energetic leader and a solid team player....always has been... even when he was the center of his high school basketball team.

[Fact Checker]

According to a 2007 demographics study by the Florida Department of Education, in Pasco County, there are 942 Male teachers of a total 4503 teachers. Therefore, 21% of teachers in Pasco county are male, and 79% are female.

Here is a link to the study:

http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:Da9I7JoMFZcJ:www.fldoe.org/eias/eiaspubs/word/tchdemo.doc+teacher+demographics&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=15&gl=us

You can find the information in Table 11.

Please check your facts before spewing your gender-hate against teachers.

Perhaps you should have simply thought that all three of these teachers must be highly respected in their field and probably all three well deserving of such recognition.

Why do they always throw in a man? 95% of teachers are women, but some how 95% of the kudos do not go to women. Throwing in a man every year makes it look like the 5% of men who teach are stellar in their field. Like, 1 in 20 male teachers rises to the top of the profession, but only 1 in nearly 100 females rises to the same level.

It is statistically impossible.

Come to think of it, 95% of administrators, superintendents, etc. are not women. Yet, statistically-logically, women should dominate the administrative level (and teacher of the year contests) just based on statistical extrapolation.

What gives?