Teachers

Flanked by her family and colleagues, President Obama today called Burbank Unified teacher Rebecca Mieliwocki -- the 2012 national Teacher of the Year -- “the definition of 'above and beyond.'” Mieliwocki, a Glendale resident who teaches English at Luther Middle School in Burbank, was given the national prize Monday by the Council of Chief State School Officers. Known for an unconventional teaching style that emphasizes critical thinking, Mieliwocki beat out more than 50 other nominees.

Flanked by her family and colleagues, President Obama today called Burbank Unified teacher Rebecca Mieliwocki - the 2012 national Teacher of the Year - “the definition of 'above and beyond.'” Mieliwocki, a Glendale resident who teaches English at Luther Burbank Middle School in Burbank, was given the national prize Monday by the Council of Chief State School Officers. Known for an unconventional teaching style that emphasizes critical thinking, Mieliwocki beat out more than 50 other nominees.

Glendale can now call itself home to the top educator in the country. Long-time Glendale resident and Burbank Unified teacher Rebecca Mieliwocki was named Monday as the 2012 National Teacher of the Year, capping an extraordinary seven months during which she advanced to the county and state levels of the competition before being named one of four finalists for the top prize. Mieliwocki, accompanied by family members and several top Burbank Unified officials, will join educators from across the country Tuesday in a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden where President Obama will formally confer the award.

An embattled La Cañada High School math teacher will leave the district at the end of the school year, bringing to a close a tense six-month chapter in which La Cañada Unified officials were criticized for mishandling concerns about her classroom conduct. Briefly addressing the subject during a meeting Tuesday, School board President Scott Tracy announced that the board had unanimously approved a settlement with Gabrielle Leko that includes her departure on June 15. In a statement released several hours later, district officials said that the agreement protects students while also shielding the financial interests of the district.

Nearly one year after Glendale voters approved a $270-million technology-focused school bond, they can now see evidence of the investment in classrooms. On Monday, Glendale Unified kicked off a second consecutive week of technology training for its teachers, handing out dozens of new Mac laptops during a professional development session that officials say will directly impact classroom instruction. “It is a tool, and if we don't know how to use a tool effectively, it doesn't do us any good,” Deputy Supt.

Teachers in Burbank and Glendale school districts will not face layoff notices this month, even as some of their colleagues in nearby La Cañada Flintridge and Pasadena learn they may not be retained for the 2012-13 school year. State law mandates that districts give notice by March 15 to full-time teachers who might be let go come summer break, making it a stressful time for those low on the seniority list, since the so-called “pink slips” are issued based the number of years of employment.

NORTHWEST GLENDALE - Hometown heroics trumped star power on Friday night in the fourth-annual Stars Shooting for Hope celebrity basketball game, which filled the bleachers of the Hoover High gymnasium for a charitable cause, while once again putting on an exciting hoops exhibition between local teachers and administrators and celebrities from the worlds of Hollywood and sports. Proceeds from admission, raffles and a silent auction raised $3,000, the most in the history of the event, for the Desi Geestman Foundation, which provides direct services to childhood cancer patients.

The president of the California Teachers Assn. visited Dunsmore Elementary School on Tuesday to read to a group of second-grade students as part of Read Across America, a national literacy effort. Dean Vogel started his education career as an elementary school counselor with the Vacaville Unified School District in Solano County before rising through the ranks to head one of California's most powerful unions. He visited with students at the La Crescenta school, and later with Glendale teachers at Toll Middle School in South Glendale, at the invitation of union's local chapter.

For years, Chris and Jennifer Davis have given their students the task of interviewing senior family members as part of an oral history project for the couple's humanities class at Clark Magnet High School. But the cheap recorders used to collect the audio data were increasingly insufficient. So earlier this month, Chris Davis turned to the nonprofit website donorschoose.org , where he posted a request for eight, high-quality digital recorders and a description of how they would be used.