Laughner named Lake County Teacher of the Year
- Lake County News reports
- Posted On
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The newest Lake County Teacher of the Year is a science teacher known for making the discipline accessible and practical for her students.
The Lake County Office of Education announced that Amanda Laughner, science teacher at Upper Lake High School, is this year’s Lake County Teacher of the Year.
“She is the absolute real deal when it comes to teaching,” said Annie Pivinski Petrie, principal of Upper Lake High School. “Our students trust and feel comfortable with Mrs. Laughner due to her genuine efforts on their behalf.”
Laughner is known for making her subject matter accessible to all students. “I build relationships within an engaging and inclusive science classroom environment. This involves students working together to “do” science, not just learn about science facts.”
Laughner added that she has high expectations of all her students, while knowing that they all aren’t starting at the same place.
“Through constantly encouraging students to share what they know and by acknowledging their growth, I help students recognize they are valuable resources in the learning process,” she said.
Her strength in teaching can be credited to her successful relationships with her own teachers.
“My teaching career was founded on the positive relationships I had with my own teachers. I viewed education as the path to achieve the life I wanted, and my excellent teachers believed that as well,” Laughner said.
Laughner has two master’s degrees, one in education and one in science in forestry and forest products.
This year, Laughner was called upon to support Upper Lake Middle School as it worked to increase curriculum and instruction capacity at their site.
She taught an advanced STEM enrichment course, piloting the course through a partnership with Sonoma State University.
“Her professionalism and commitment to this area of growth was a huge support and model for the staff,” Petrie said.
Laughner also acts as the club advisor for the Upper Lake High School Native American Club, and participates in the school district’s Native American Action Committee. Because she works directly with Native American students, her input to the committee provides valuable insight into their needs.
To add to her busy schedule, Laughner was asked to lead Upper Lake High School’s implementation of a comprehensive Multi-Tiered System of Support, an approach to improving students’ academic, behavioral and social success.
Laughner will design and pilot a new course for students who have not been successful in the regular classroom. She will also help support teachers to embed tier one steps as an active, frequent and ongoing part of their classrooms.
After being selected as district teachers of the year through their site administrators, four Lake County District Teachers of the Year competed through an application and interview process for the distinction of Lake County Teacher.
They are:
– Matt Carpenter, Kelseyville Unified School District;
– Jan Peterson, Konocti Unified School District;
– Jennifer Pyzer, Middletown Unified School District;
– Amanda Laughner, Upper Lake Unified School District.
There was a consensus among the selection committee that choosing just one Lake County Teacher of the Year was difficult, because the district teachers of the year brought so many strengths to the table.
Most notable was the 49 years of teaching that Jan Peterson has under her belt. Peterson is a second grade teacher at Lower Lake Elementary School, in the Konocti Unified School District.
“Jan has lived a life of service to the students in her classroom. Her quiet caring and willingness to go above and beyond was evident in our conversations,” said Deputy Superintendent of Schools Cynthia Lenners.
Besides the longevity of service that Peterson has provided to Lake County students, she is also considered an innovator in education.
She started a computer lab at Burns Valley Elementary School in 1985 with a grant from IBM. In 1991, she facilitated Math Wings, a research-based program out of John Hopkins University. In 2005, she piloted an interactive learning program using the Promethean Board. Today, Peterson is utilizing Google Classroom to provide distance learning to her students.
“Jan is always the first to implement new things,” said Tarin Benson, principal at Lower Lake Elementary School.
Members of the selection committee included Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg; Deputy Superintendent of Schools Cynthia Lenners; Kerry Smith, current Lake County Teacher of the Year; Alan Siegel, former Lake County and California Teacher of the Year; and Jo Fay, representing the California Retired Teachers Association.
Lake County has had three California Teachers of the Year in the last 15 years. Erica Boomer from Upper Lake Unified School District was named a California Teacher of the Year 2019. Jennifer Kelly from the Middletown Unified School District received the honor in 2011, and Alan Siegel from Konocti Unified School District received the honor in 2005.
Falkenberg acknowledged the high success rate Lake County teachers have had in the California Teacher of the Year program.
“Our Lake County students are being served well by some of the best teachers in our state. That’s a very impressive thing,” he said.
Perhaps, Laughner will be added to that list.
The Lake County Teacher of the Year is a program administered through the Lake County Office of Education and the California Department of Education. For more information about the Lake County District Teachers of the Year, please visit www.lakecoe.org/TOY .