Tuesday was a night to celebrate excellence, as the Mathews County School Board recognized its three Teacher of the Year recipients, and congratulated student artists from each of the county’s three schools whose work was exhibited last week at the 2019 Virginia School Boards Association Regional Spring Art Contest.
The process for selecting Teacher of the Year began in January, with candidates having to meet a number of criteria in order to be considered. Ultimately, the decision is left in the hands of the teachers’ colleagues, who vote on the candidates. This makes it significant, said superintendent of schools Nancy Welch, because “it’s not from an administrator, it’s from your peers.”
Teacher of the Year recipients for 2019 are math specialist Delores Bloomfield at Lee-Jackson Elementary, physical education teacher James Hutcheson from Thomas Hunter Middle, and science teacher Mark Tomcany from Mathews High School.
Lee-Jackson principal Drew Greve, introducing Bloomfield, said that one of the biggest measures of teacher success is “the lasting impact they have on students.” In that regard, he said, Bloomfield is a tremendous success, as no one is visited by more former students than she. With 32 years in teaching (21 at Lee-Jackson), Bloomfield is always looking for innovative teaching techniques and ways to grow professionally, Greve said.
“I feel like we have an unsung hero finally being recognized,” said THMS principal Laurel Byrd of Hutcheson. “Coach Hutch understands the connection between the body and the mind,” she said. “He is a perceptive teacher … He cares for our students and he supports them,” she said. “It has been a pleasure to watch him grow professionally.”
MHS principal Alexis Foster said that, like himself, Tomcany doesn’t say a whole lot. But he is one of the teaching professionals whose “actions speak louder than their words.” A dedicated teacher, Tomcany frequently stays after school and doesn’t care about getting recognition for his efforts, the MHS principal said. Foster called Tomcany “a silent giant in our building.”
The teachers received baskets filled with gifts from a number of area merchants and others. Contributors included the Bay School of the Arts, Cheeseboards by Nancy Welch, Chesapeake Bank, Chick-fil-A, Donk’s Theater, the Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal, Grover’s Auto Repair, Hair Creations, Linda’s Diner, Dr. Ben Lennon, the Mathews Lions Club, Mathews Pharmacy, Mathews Family YMCA, Mi Casa Azteca Restaurant, Moughons Inc., P. Buckley Moss Galleries, Rappahannock Community College, Shun Xing Restaurant, Southwind Café, The Florence and Leonard White & Ladie and Irving Hudgins Charitable Trust Honorarium, Unique Design, Whitley’s Peanut Factory, Mathews County School Board, all three schools and the MCPS cafeteria.
Student art
In the other recognition at the start of Tuesday’s meeting in the MHS media center, 10-year-old Lee-Jackson student Franklin Morse, 13-year-old THMS student Abigail Savo and MHS senior Nicole Brown were applauded by school board members for their artwork, which was entered in the VSBA regional contest. Morse was selected for his work, “Off-Road Semi Truck”; Savo was chosen for “Lost in the Forest”; and Brown’s work was titled “Koi Fish.” This is the second year that Brown represented MHS.
Savo placed second in the regional contest, which was held last Thursday in Caroline County. All three works of art will remain on display throughout the coming year at the three schools.
During presentations at the start of the meeting, MHS football coach C.J. Kelly spoke about the newly formed Mathews Football and Cheer Association, which has its first season starting next month. He said that the last time Mathews had a youth football program was 1984.
The program has gotten off to a good start, he said, with a seven-member board and all five head coaching positions filled by MHS alumni. “I want this to be a part of our school system,” Kelly said, adding that the program has taken the Blue Devil name to form a connection with the high school team. The inaugural season will run from May to November, he said.
THMS teacher Martha Barker spoke during public comment, expressing her appreciation for the board members “to promote the increase [in teacher pay] we so desperately need.” “Thank you for speaking on our behalf,” she said.
On the issue of the school budget, the board took a planned April 30 work session off its calendar, because the final state budget is not yet available. Instead, the board will hold a work session at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 21, prior to the board’s regular monthly meeting.
In personnel actions, the board approved the retirement of MHS teacher assistant Harriet Whitener for the current school year and the resignation of mechanic John Fulcher for the 2019-2020 school year.