North Salisbury Teacher Debbie Wilkins Named Wicomico Teacher Of The Year

Debbie Wilkins, a fifth-grade teacher in the Magnet Program at North
Salisbury Elementary, was recognized for her outstanding work in the
classroom when she was named 2008-09 Wicomico Teacher of the Year March 17.

Interim Superintendent of Schools Thomas B. Field and Board of Education
President Robin Holloway announced Wilkin's honor at the end of the annual
Wicomico County Teacher of the Year Awards Banquet. The 25th annual Wicomico
Teacher of the Year Banquet was held at The Commons at Salisbury University
with more than 250 people in attendance. Guests included the newly named
Wicomico Superintendent of Schools (effective July 1) Dr. John Fredericksen
and his wife, Dr. Renee Fredericksen, and Dr. Darla Strouse, head of
Maryland's Teacher of the Year Program.

"I am proud to say that my 28 years of teaching has been in Wicomico
County," wrote Wilkins in her Teacher of the Year writing prompt. "I am also
proud to say that if I had the opportunity to start over, to choose another
career, it would be 'Teacher.'"

"It is my hope that I inspire the desire to learn."

As Teacher of the Year, Wilkins will represent Wicomico County's more than
1,200 teachers. Her nomination for Wicomico Teacher of the Year came from
several of her fifth-grade students, who praised their teacher for inspiring
students to learn more about a topic by "talking about a topic" but not too
much, which "makes students research about that topic." Her leadership in
helping students put on a Veterans Day celebration each year means that "We
now understand that veterans do anything to protect our country."

"She's very kind and she's a person who is my role model," another student
wrote. A third student said Mrs. Wilkins "inspires people to learn by
making it fun," and that she is organized and outgoing but "can still
discipline if needed." "She really cares about what we learn and how we
learn it," the student wrote.

Wicomico's new Teacher of the Year will begin her year in style, arriving at
North Salisbury Elementary School at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday chauffeured in a
classic 1949 Buick provided for the occasion by Wicomico music teacher and
auto enthusiast Buck Burton. Her students, other fifth-grade Magnet
students, and fellow North Salisbury staff members will turn out to greet
her when she arrives. An assembly for the whole school will follow, with
Wilkins seated in a giant "chair of honor."

Wilkins will be featured, along with all of this year's semifinalists, in a
"Working Together for Children" Teacher of the Year special on PAC 14.

Later this year, Wilkins will represent Wicomico County Public Schools in
the Maryland Teacher of the Year contest. Wicomico is proud to have two
former Maryland Teachers of the Year, Bonnie Walston and Aaron Deal, working
in its school system on behalf of students.

Debbie Wilkins, 2008-09 Wicomico Teacher of the Year

Wilkins graduated from Snow Hill High School and received a bachelor's
degree from Salisbury University in 1975. She began her teaching career in
1977 as a third-grade teacher at Glen Avenue Elementary, where she taught
until 1988. Later that year, she began teaching in the school system's
Magnet Program for elementary students at North Salisbury Elementary,
initially as a third-grade teacher. She now teaches fifth grade in the North
Salisbury Elementary Magnet Program.

"Mrs. Wilkins is one of the most creative and innovative teachers in the
county," said her supervisor, Lee Powell, supervisor of the Magnet Program.

In addition to what she does every day in the classroom, Wilkins has taken
on extra activities that make learning even more fun and educational for
North Salisbury students and provide opportunities for parents and the
community to share in what students learn. Seventeen years ago, she began
helping her students put on a Multicultural Fair with food, games and
cultural information. "This program has grown each year. Students have the
opportunity to share their culture or learn about a new one. Parents also
play an important role. They become part of it," Wilkins wrote. Other North
Salisbury students have the opportunity to explore other cultures through
the Multicultural Fair.

Each November, Wilkins also guides her students in putting on a Veterans Day
Program. In preparation for Veterans Day, every North Salisbury fifth-grader
writes a letter to a veteran who is serving or has served the country.
Wilkins' students lead the program, serving as speakers, greeters and ribbon
makers. The event is attended by North Salisbury students and is open to the
community and its veterans. Through the Veterans Day program, North
Salisbury fifth-graders and other students "understand how they earned their
freedom, the sacrifices that were made so they could learn and feel safe at
school," Wilkins wrote.

Top Teachers

Twenty-seven semifinalists were selected to complete a writing prompt and
undergo an interview with a blue-ribbon judging panel of former Wicomico
teachers of the year. Based on results from the interview and writing
exercise, the judging panel chose a finalist to represent each school level.
Finalists were, in addition to Wilkins for the intermediate level, Virginia
Mogan, kindergarten teacher, Prince Street Elementary (Primary); Bettina
Postles, science teacher, Wicomico Middle (Middle); and Melissa Schock,
Social Studies teacher, Wicomico High (High School).

The other semifinalists for Wicomico Teacher of the Year were:

Primary:
Mindy Craft, Grade 2, Beaver Run Elementary
Barbara Culver, Schoolwide Title 1 Resource, Charles H. Chipman Elementary
Terri Goldman, Primary Special Education, Delmar Elementary
Jacqueline Lemon, Grade 2, Fruitland Primary
Melissa Echard, Prekindergarten, Northwestern Elementary
Tara Parsons, Grade 2, Pemberton Elementary
Mary Mackes, Kindergarten, Pinehurst Elementary
Debbie Karten, Grade 2, Westside Intermediate
Ronna Bievenour, Prekindergarten, Westside Primary
Deborah Simpkins, Grade 2, Willards Elementary

Intermediate:
Matthew Guy, Grade 4, East Salisbury Elementary
Theresa Spicer, Grade 4, Fruitland Intermediate
Priscilla Basehart, Title 1 Reading, Glen Avenue Elementary
Lisa King, Grade 3, Pinehurst Elementary
Melissa Thomas, Grade 5, Pittsville Elementary and Middle
Jean McMullin, Grade 4, Prince Street Elementary
Kim Messick, Grade 5, Westside Intermediate

Middle:
Mary Laurenzano, Math, Bennett Middle
Renee Hesson, Reading Intervention, Mardela Middle
Dottie Walls, Computer Education, Pittsville Elementary and Middle
Krista Brown, Math, Salisbury Middle

High:
Jeff Baer, Choral, Mardela Middle and High
Ben Vickers, History, Parkside High

All 102 Teacher of the Year nominees were invited to attend the banquet,
which spotlights not just the year's most outstanding teacher, but all
Wicomico educators who demonstrate outstanding leadership, a commitment to
excellence, dedication to teaching the children of the community, and
professional achievement, said Karen Leimann, coordinator of the Teacher of
the Year Program.

Friend of Education, Business Sponsors

Each year at the Wicomico County Teacher of the Year Awards Banquet,
Wicomico also honors a "Friend of Education" who has generously supported
Wicomico schoolchildren and schools. This year's recipient of the "Friend"
Award will be the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore. Since 1984, the
Community Foundation has supported local nonprofit organizations like the
Wicomico County Public Schools in many ways. Schools can receive Excellence
in Education Awards through the Community Foundation for outstanding
programs or projects. The Foundation manages the Samuel Seidel Memorial
Reading Forever Endowment Fund, which since 1991 has given nearly $70,000 to
support the purchase of library books in school media centers; The
Children's Fund, which supports after-school programs in Wicomico, and the
Charles and Gladys Goslee Youth Help Fund, which provides financial
assistance to students in need.

"The Foundation believes in the power of philanthropy and provides community
leadership through grants, nonprofit support programs, charitable
partnerships, and local initiatives on the lower Eastern Shore, especially
in Wicomico County," Leimann said. "Wicomico schools and students are very
fortunate to have the Community Foundation as a partner."

Tracy Sahler
Public Information Officer
Wicomico County Public Schools