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Passing The Test Of Time

Scott Iskowitz/ The Tampa Tribune

Chiles Elementary school teacher Sharon Cutler talks to students about sound waves.

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By MARINELLA MOZZICATO, Tribune correspondent

Published: February 23, 2008

Additional Photos

TAMPA PALMS - Chiles Elementary teacher Mary Booth was shocked when a team of officials burst through the door in December to name her a finalist for Hillsborough County Teacher of the Year.

But the surprise ambushes have become practically routine to the Chiles community. In the school's seven-year history, four teachers have been finalists for the award.

So what's the secret to success at Chiles?

"What we have here is a strong sense of teamwork," said Principal Shari Beaubien.

Beaubien said each of the finalists contributes to the environment at Chiles.

Booth, who is up for the Teacher of the Year award Thursday, has taught at Chiles since it opened.

This year, Booth started a group in which teachers focus on technology. They're discussing creating a Web page where parents can communicate with one another other and have access to what's going on in the classroom.

Booth said everyone at Chiles supports one another like members of the same family.

"Anytime somebody has an idea, there's so many people ready to jump onboard," she said.

Jennifer LeBlanc, a music teacher, was named a finalist for Hillsborough County Teacher of the Year in 2003, the first for Chiles.

Fifth-grader Garrett Brown said he can see why LeBlanc was nominated.

"She always smiles," he said. "Even when she's mad, she smiles."

LeBlanc said she has worn a permanent smile on her face since the first time she entered a Chiles classroom seven years ago.

"They're my complete source of energy," she said. "If I couldn't teach my kids, I couldn't function."

Although her kids are her No. 1 motivators, LeBlanc said the administration also provides the extra support that teachers need.

Renee Stembridge, a third-grade teacher who was a Teacher of the Year finalist last year, agreed with LeBlanc. She has seen Beaubien do everything from student pickup to textbook checkout on an injured leg.

"There's nothing they wouldn't ask you to do that they wouldn't do themselves," Stembridge said.

Sharon Cutler, a science teacher for the gifted program, was named Teacher of the Year in 2006. She finds different ways to keep the school clean and the students involved. A bucket of "garbage tongs" sit outside her classroom so students can take turns picking up trash and recyclables around the school.

Her classroom also is crawling with most of the critters she owns: bearded dragons, hairless mice, frogs and millipedes. Cutler said her students learn by seeing and doing.

Although not every teacher at Chiles has been nominated for Teacher of the Year, Beaubien said she thinks of her staff as a winning team.

"We're all rooting for Mrs. Booth because that's what we do here," Beaubien said.

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