Vancouver teacher named region’s Teacher of the Year
Kenneth Roberts has been named the Educational Service District 112 regional Teacher of the Year (TOY) for 2010. A teacher at Fort Vancouver High School in the Vancouver School District, Roberts is one of nine finalists from around the state for the Washington State Teacher of the Year Award. One teacher will be selected to represent Washington state in the National Teacher of the Year Program.
Roberts began his career teaching English in Barcelona, Spain. He worked as a Head Start teacher in Arizona before going back to school to earn his Master’s Degree. Roberts taught high school Spanish for Battle Ground School District, where he helped develop the district’s first AP Spanish class, only to watch the program be discontinued for financial reasons. In 2006, Roberts was hired by Vancouver School District. He currently teaches Spanish at Fort Vancouver High School, which has a Spanish speaking population of 100 ELL students. Roberts also runs the CONEVyT program, an online program from Mexico for students with limited English proficiency. CONEVyT courses are aligned with Washington state curriculum and are taught in Spanish, making math and science accessible to students who are learning English. “Prior to CONEVyT,” says Roberts, “students would often fail, but now they can succeed.”
Roberts is co-founder of La Plaza, a community learning center for Vancouver’s Latino community. Adults take English classes through a partnership with Clark College and also take Spanish and online classes to complete their primary and secondary education. Childcare, preschool and homework help are provided by volunteers. More than 40 families use La Plaza services.
“I am very proud of my work at Fort Vancouver High School and La Plaza,” declares Roberts, “but it has only just begun. I will continue to find ways to help a community in need because everybody deserves a chance to get ahead.”
Roberts is a strong proponent of closing the achievement gap for Latino students. He believes that everybody deserves an opportunity to thrive regardless of who they are or where they are from. Roberts has been invited by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop bilingual training models to further CONEVyT’s implementation statewide.
“There is no greater satisfaction than to go to school everyday and to see my students advancing personally, mentally and socially,” said Roberts.
“Ken’s tireless energies have not only broken down language barriers to learning, they have gone well beyond school walls to make the Fort CONEVyT Portal into a model for the rest of Washington state,” said Vancouver Public Schools Superintendent Steven Webb.
The state committee will interview the nine nominees in late September. One teacher will be selected to represent Washington State in the National Teacher of the Year 2010 program.
Public Information - August 13, 2009