Local teacher specially proud

Vicki Willig Victoria (Vicki) Willig, one of 16 Los Angeles County Teachers of the Year recipients, will represent the county and the Las Virgenes Unified School District in California's top teacher competition next month.

Willig is the only special education teacher among the finalists. A specialist in autism, she teaches special education classes at A.C. Stelle Middle School in Calabasas and at Agoura High School.

"I was pretty shocked," Willig said. "When you think in terms of impacting kids, my kids are impacted very differently than, say, the history teacher can impact their students. So I was really honored, and really shocked."

Willig, 52, is also a mentorteacher on the district level, having designed and implemented a functional- and vocational-skills program for the developmentally disabled. The program, she said, is based on the tenets of Applied Behavior Analysis, an intervention program that is said to produce socially significant improvements in human behavior.

Contestants were required to submit essays, lesson plans and other materials to judging panels in addition to undergoing personal interviews. Willig discussed her teaching philosophy.

"Student progress needs to be documented individually in relation to specific goals and objectives on each student's IEP (Individualized Education Plan)," Willig wrote in the Teacher of the Year application. "Like many teachers I keep student portfolios, but as my curriculum includes roleplays, behavioral programming and other non-paper and pencil tasks, I also videotape."

Videotaping her students' progress, Willig said, allows teachers, students and parents to see progress and assess both strong and weak areas in the curriculum or teaching strategies.

"Reflection on ourselves as well as our students is an important component in measuring student success," Willig wrote.

Willig also developed a program that sends her students into the community through charitable work and work in local neighborhoods. She developed an outreach program wherein her students sew quilts for children on a Navajo Indian Reservation and started a coffee business to support class projects.

"The students are seen on campus as a more integral part of the school, as their business is an active and positive (one) for the school community," Willig said. "The positive visibility they get has changed the perception of students with severe disabilities on the high school campus."

Under Willig's guidance, students with severe disabilities also learn practical living skills such as how to shop, budget, cook and navigate the community.

"These skills help youngsters lead meaningful and independent lives as they move into high school and beyond," said Superintendent Donald Zimring. "We are extremely proud that Ms. Willig is part of our staff. She has the rare ability to work with youngsters who have some of the highest needs and greatest demands that there are. Despite that, she is able to achieve levels of success that are truly remarkable."

The L.A. County Teachers of the Year Program was presented by the Los Angeles County Office of Education. The 16 teachers who have been selected to advance in the state competition with other finalists from around California were chosen from a pool of 80,000 teachers in Los Angeles County.

The state will announce its five co-winners in November, and one of the winners will be chosen to represent California in the National Teacher of the Year contest in spring 2009. An awards ceremony will be held in Sacramento after the first of the year.

Las Virgenes Unified School District has been home to two California Teachers of the Year recipients, as well as several state finalists over the years.