CUSD celebrates top teachers

By Greg Mellen

It was an evening of applause, hugs, flowers, and some moments of amazing poignancy as the Capistrano Unified School District celebrated its own at the 2023 Teacher of the Year Celebration in the auditorium at San Juan Hills High.

Referred to as the EGOT — Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony — celebration of the year for CUSD, the district honored 59 individual school teachers and education professionals.

The evening culminated in the celebration of the district-wide Elementary, Middle School, and High School Teachers of the Year, who advance to the Orange County Teacher of the Year competition.

Leslie Whitaker of Esencia K-8 School, Yesenia Hogancamp of Carl Hankey K-8 School, and Fernanda Villalba of San Juan Hills High were the elementary, middle school, and high school winners, respectively.

Each had a video presentation played from the surprise announcements of their awards at their schools, with comments from fellow teachers, administrators and students.

Leslie Whitaker

Principal Greg Hauser of Esencia said Whitaker, a third-grade teacher, was key from the beginning in helping him integrate into the school as a first-year principal.

“Since then she’s only improved my opinion of her,” he said.

Whitaker, whose classroom door is almost always open, took little notice when students began remarking about the large group assembled outside her room.

“I told them it was just people walking through school,” she recalled of the day she received the surprise visit. It was only when she saw the banner and flowers that Whitaker realized what was happening.

Yesenia Hogancamp

Hogancamp was a student English Learner in CUSD, and now teaches as a Spanish English Language Development (ELD) teacher for sixth through eighth grades.

“Language opens all doors in the present and the future,” she said.

While Hogankamp was surprised, her daughter Samantha was not. In a message to her mom, Samantha said, “I’ve always thought of you as the teacher of the year every year.”

Fernanda Villalba

Villalba, a former CUSD student as well, has been a key faculty member at San Juan Hills High since its creation in 2007.

“She made the school better for everyone and she made me a better principal,” said Jennifer Smalley, a principal at San Juan Hills until her recent promotion to Assistant Superintendent.

Looking back on her 23-year tenure, Villalba said, “Many of my students became teachers and are now my colleagues and their kids are now my students.”

During the presentations of the individual school awards, the honorees accepted their awards on stage while brief narratives they had written about themselves were read. More than 50 of the 59 honorees assembled on stage for individual recognition, while nearly 500 friends, family members, and supporters filled the auditorium to near-capacity.

The winners ranged in experience from four to nearly 40 years. Their comments and recollections ranged from comic interactions with students to touching commentaries about former students returning to thank them for what they meant in their  lives.

And then there was Shannon Halbert, who teaches at Union High School and its Alternative To Suspension program. Halbert said in the past year one of her children died in a plane crash. When Halbert returned to school, she recalls a student approaching her to say “you’ve always been there for us, now it’s time for us to be there for you.”

Dr. Bob Presby, Associate Superintendent, Human Resource Services, said in his opening remarks that the celebration served as a reminder that much more goes into teaching than just reading, writing, and arithmetic. That teachers are experts in the art and science of learning. That students are more than just test grades. And that schools are safe places of encouragement for children.

Here are the honorees:

Elementary School

Whitney Trejo, Harold Ambuehl Elementary

Sue Paschall, Arroyo Vista K-8

Samantha Yahr, Bathgate Elementary

Dorothy Farrell, Truman Benedict Elementary

Annie Chi, Marian Bergeson Elementary

Pam Taylor. Canyon Vista Elementary

Macey Salazar, Castille Elementary

Trace Wilcox, Chaparral Elementary

Kristen Bisch, Concordia Elementary

Maria Arbelo, R.H. Dana Elementary

Kaylie Gustafson, R.H. Dana ENF

Heather Hockersmith, Del Obispo Elementary

Erica Camarena, Don Juan Avila Elementary

Leslie Whitaker, Esencia K-8

Carol Slade, George White Elementary

Angela Cantacessi, Carl Hankey Elementary

Jennifer Hatfield, Hidden Hills Elementary

Monika O’Kane, Kinoshita Elementary

Jennifer Kovaleski, Ladera Ranch Elementary

Anna Erwin, Laguna Niguel Elementary

Frances Mackay, Las Flores Elementary

Barrie Fitzgerald, Clarence Lobo Elementary

Dina Darsow, John S Malcom Elementary

Dr. Sarah Fontanes, Marblehead Elementary

Laurie Hansch, Moulton Elementary

William Cox, Elementary School Music

Sherrie Embry, Oak Grove Elementary

April Micklin, Oso Grande Elementary

Bryn Stamos, Palisades Elementary

Daniella Nieto, Philip Reilly Elementary

Isela Diaz, San Juan Elementary

Terrence Snodgrass, Tijeras Elementary

Theresa Chaverot-Campos, Viejo Elementary

Anne Faris, Vista del Mar K-8

Carol Tsai, Wagon Wheel Elementary

Quinn Bishop, Wood Canyon Elementary

Middle School

Sara Campbell, Aliso Viejo Middle

Matthew Engelken, Arroyo Vista K-8

Bridget Burke, Bernice Ayer Middle

Matt McKoy, Don Juan Avila Middle

Christine Abuharoon, Esencia Middle

Yesenia Hogancamp, Carl Hankey K-8

Rose Antonatos, Ladera Ranch Middle

Shelley McClusker, Las Flore Middle

Michele Barnaby, Marco Forster Middle

Brianna Vanderwal, Fred Newhart Middle

Marcy Hamilton, Niguel Hills Middle

Jenny Goit, Shorecliffs Middle

Jenny Contant, Vista del Mar K-8

High School

Carol Harlan, Aliso Niguel High

Heather Cintas, Capistrano Valley High

Nicole Lovett, Dana Hills High

Marc Popovich, San Clemente High

Fernanda Villalba, San Juan Hills High

Rick Brail, Tesoro High

Amber Mills, Cal Prep Academy/Capo Virtual

Shannon Halbert, Union High

Traci Conner, Adult Transition

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