Chamber of Commerce honors outstanding local teachers

Acorn Staff Writer


JOHN LOESING/The Acorn  TEACHER EXCELLENCE--From left to right are Judy Hunt of Lupin Hill Elementary School, Rick Barclay of Medea Creek Middle School and Jan Sloane of Red Oak Elementary School who are all smiles after being named Educators of the Year last week by the Agoura/Oak Park/Las Virgenes Chamber of Commerce. In all, 20 teachers earned the honor during ceremonies at Canyon Club.

JOHN LOESING/The Acorn TEACHER EXCELLENCE–From left to right are Judy Hunt of Lupin Hill Elementary School, Rick Barclay of Medea Creek Middle School and Jan Sloane of Red Oak Elementary School who are all smiles after being named Educators of the Year last week by the Agoura/Oak Park/Las Virgenes Chamber of Commerce. In all, 20 teachers earned the honor during ceremonies at Canyon Club.

When Oak View High School in Oak Park celebrated its 20th anniversary this year and recognized past accomplishments, English teacher Christine Brown couldn’t have been prouder.


Brown has taught at the continuation high school since the day it opened, but this year announced her retirement from Oak View and from teaching.


Last week at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, Brown received a fitting tribute to her 36-year career. She received an Educator of the Year Award by the Agoura/Oak Park/Las Virgenes Chamber of Commerce.


For the second year in a row, the chamber honored the top teachers of the area, and for the voters who cast their ballots at Oak View, Brown was an easy choice.


"I love the kids and I love the work," she said following the ceremony. "When you work with kids and have a passion and a hope for them, you never get tired."


In all, 20 teachers were named Educators of the Year; the winners selected from more than 2,000 nominations in Oak Park and Las Virgenes school districts.


Also this year, more than 400 people attended the ceremony, twice as many as last year.


Speaking from his own past, Chamber President Alex Soteras said teachers are the unsung heroes of society.


"My grandmother came to this country from Greece and didn’t speak any English," Soteras said, "but she learned and became a teacher. She said it was the most rewarding thing she did in her life."


Another teacher honored at the event was Greg Fried, the retiring Lindero Canyon Middle School bandleader.


Under Fried’s leadership, the Lindero orchestra was named top instrumental group at this year’s prestigious Heritage Music Festival in San Diego.


While Fried employs music as a pathway to the mind, Red Oak Elementary second-grade teacher Jan Sloane uses frogs.


"The first thing you notice about [Sloane’s] classroom is she collects frogs," Soteras said. "She uses frogs in teaching a unique way that students love."


Willow Elementary teacher Anastasia Fayne makes her class special by teaching a unit on Indian art. The students in Sandra Fleishman’s fourth- and fifth-grade combination class at Yerba Buena Elementary School created their own "state fair" and "wax museum."


Linda Jacobs, a kindergarten teacher at Sumac Elementary School, said that while communication between student, teacher and parent is important, the kids hold top priority in her class.


"I make them feel very special and use a lot of positive reinforcement," Jacobs said. "I try to make it fun."


The Chamber also honored outgoing Ventura County Supervisor Frank Schillo and his aide, Ron Stark.


Schillo, a former two-time mayor of Thousand Oaks who’s retiring at the end of the year, led the quest for the Civic Arts Plaza and helped bring branch libraries to Newbury Park and Oak Park. Stark served as a founding member of the Oak Park Civic Association and the Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council.


"[Ron] has always tried to make Oak Park a better place to live," Soteras said.


The Agoura/Oak Park/Las Virgenes Chamber of Commerce serves more than 425 businesses in Conejo Valley-Las Virgenes and hosts regular meetings, mixers and informational gatherings. For more information on upcoming events, visit www.agourachamber.org, or call (818) 889-3150.




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