Karrie Coulter’s third-grade pupils gasped in unison as the classroom door flew open and dignitaries appeared bearing flowers and balloons celebrating her selection as Marin’s Teacher of the Year.
Mary Jane Burke, Marin’s superintendent of schools, handed Coulter her prizes in the teacher’s classroom at Short Elementary in San Rafael.
The 15-year teaching veteran was chosen in part for her dedication to building academic language and literacy for all students, especially English language learners. She helped set the direction for the school, which reopened in 2010 and whose student body includes many first-generation immigrants whose parents are facing economic challenges.
“Happy Birthday!” the 22 students joyfully, if incorrectly, called out upon glimpsing the balloons.
“We have almost 3,000 teachers all over Marin, and every year, only one of them is chosen (for the award),” Burke told the students, to more gasps. “Your teacher got the award because she comes to work every day and is so excited to see you all and she knows how smart you are and how committed you are to your learning.”
Short is a model school site for a number of educational best practices including a specialized language acquisition teaching method. The school, which now has 213 students, “loops” teachers with their students, meaning teachers stay with their pupils when they advance to the next highest grade.
“She crafted a system at the school that helped track student progress school-wide, so no student fell through the cracks,” said Vanessa Flynn, the school principal. “This way, the school can help students who are struggling to achieve at their grade level.”
Repairing to the hall for a brief interview, Coulter said she was “honored and overwhelmed.”
“It’s a lot to take in,” she said. “I wouldn’t be able to do what I can do without the team here at Short. It’s all of us together.”
