Following her selection in June as one of 22 educators named as LAUSD 2019-20 Teacher of the Year, Kindergarten and Transitional K teacher Amy Weisberg has gone on to be selected as one of 16 K-12 educators named as Los Angeles County Teachers of the Year.
Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools Debra Duardo presented the outstanding educators, representing the best of the profession in the state’s largest honors competition, during the annual Teachers of the Year banquet held September 20 at the Universal City Hilton.
“The luncheon on Friday was amazing,”said Weisberg, “especially since my daughters, granddaughter, cousins, and brother-in-law were there to share the event with me and local District West’s Superintendent, Dr. Cheryl P. Hildreth who was also seated at my table. It was great!”
“What better way to launch the school year than to honor extraordinary teachers and the teaching profession,” Duardo said. “These individuals are the heart and soul of a good education, each day instilling a love of learning and inspiring our young people to reach their full potential.”
The winning educators, comprised of 14 women and two men, teach a range of grades and subjects at a diversity of school districts.
Judged as the county’s top public school teachers for this academic year, the 16 educators serve as standard-bearers for the teaching profession and their 73,000 classroom colleagues countywide. Each received a cash gift of $1,000 from the California Credit Union, the program’s main sponsor.
The 16 were selected from a field of 61 teachers representing 56 districts who participated in the 38th annual Los Angeles County Teachers of the Year competition, organized by the Los Angeles County Office of Education. All participants had recently been selected as teacher(s) of the year by their respective school districts.
In addition to being interviewed, contestants submitted essays, lesson plans, and other materials to judging panels comprised of peers. At all levels, Teacher of the Year contests are designed to focus public attention on teaching excellence and to honor exemplary dedication, compelling classroom practices, positive accomplishments and professional commitment.
The 16 Los Angeles County winners will automatically advance with other county titlists from around the state to the California Teachers of the Year competition this fall. The state is scheduled to announce its five co-winners in November, but only one of those state co-winners will be chosen to represent California in the National Teacher of the Year contest next spring.
The County Teachers of the Year Program is the largest local competition in the state and nation and is part of the oldest and most prestigious honors contest in the U.S. for public school teachers. The number of winners—16—is determined by program rules based on the total number of schoolteachers (73,000) in Los Angeles County.
View the 2019 Teachers of the Year booklet with information on all the county and district winners here.
LACOE’s YouTube Channel has videos of all 16 winners here.
Amy Weisberg lives in Topanga and teaches Kindergarten/Transitional K at Los Angeles Unified School District, Topanga Elementary Charter School,. After four decades in the classroom, Amy is convinced the road to college and career begins in the first five years of life. As a kindergarten teacher, welcoming children to their first school experience, she strives to help each one experience the joy in learning. According to many grateful parents, “Amy sets high standards and expectations for everyone in her class, and even though they are tiny, they truly rise to the occasion.”