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At the 27th annual Alameda County Teacher of the Year awards ceremony, teachers Diana Culmer of Oakland Unified School District and Veronica Bollwerk of Newark Unified School District were selected to represent Alameda County to compete for the title of 2016-17 California State Teacher of the Year.Diana Culmer teaches special needs students at Grass Valley elementary school in Oakland. Veronica Bollwerk leads a college preparatory program for students at Newark Memorial High School. The pair were chosen among the 19 district winners after submitting an extensive application for panel review.
“We are honored to celebrate our Alameda County teachers and highlight the critical work they do,” said L. Karen Monroe, Alameda County Superintendent of Schools. “The impact that a great teacher has on students ultimately extends beyond the classroom and can change communities. I thank all of Alameda County’s teachers for the amazing work they do to uplift and empower students on the road to college and career success.”
The celebratory event, hosted at the Castro Valley Center for the Arts on Thursday night, October 6th, was attended by close to 300 people including the winners’ families, school and district leaders, elected officials, and community members. All 19 district winners were recognized for their dedication and commitment to the impactful work they do with students.
The full list of the 2016 Alameda County winners are:
- Alameda County Office of Education - Wendy Morrison, Infant and Family Support Program
- Alameda Unified School District - Mandie Cline, Ruby Bridges Elementary School
- Castro Valley Unified School District - Lee Ann Chinn, Canyon Middle School
- Dublin Unified School District - Ron Hubbard, Dublin Elementary School
- Eden Area Regional Occupational Program - Erika Emery, Mt. Eden High School
- Emery Unified School District - Tom Salvatore, Emery Secondary School
- Fremont Unified School District - Karen Raudsep, Brier Elementary School
- Hayward Unified School District - Makilia Rowe-Andrews, Bret Harte Middle School
- Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District - Debbie Burkle, District Instructional Coach
- Mission Valley Regional Occupational Program - Hector Albizo,Irvington High School
- New Haven Unified School District - Neil Schwartzfarb, Itliong-Vera Cruz Middle School
- Newark Unified School District - Veronica Bollwerk, Newark Memorial High School
- Oakland Unified School District - Diana Culmer, Grass Valley Elementary
- Oakland Unified School District- Faustena Byrd-Linarez, Carl Munck Elementary
- Pleasanton Unified School District -Terri Drain, Vintage Hills Elementary
- San Leandro Unified School District - Tony Farley, San Leandro High School
- San Lorenzo Unified School District - Monique Coughran, San Lorenzo High School
- Sunol Glen Unified School District - Caitlin Allen, Sunol Glen School
- Tri-Valley Regional Occupational Program - Christine Capitani - Buckley, Granada High School
