10 • March 27, 2013 • Snoqualmie Valley Record
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Snoqualmie Valley’s educators of 2013 Marianne Bradburn: Elementary Educator of the Year By Carol Ladwig Staff Reporter
It’s definitely an occasion for “The Awesome Song” as the school day ends in Marianne Bradburn’s classroom. Maybe it was because she announced “No homework tonight!” or maybe because the sun was out and students could walk across the playground to their buses. Whatever the reason, the students were chanting right along with their teacher as she led them out the door. “A-W-E-S-O-M-E! Awesome, awesome, awesome, that’s the way to be,” they sang, punctuating the “whoo!” at the end with skips and jumps. It’s the right song for the day, and for the teacher, who was named Elementary Educator of the Year by the Snoqualmie Schools Foundation. Students love Bradburn, who in the last minutes before the final bell rings, is at the center of a group of them, all anxious to read her their stories, show her their work on the iPad, or just to get a hug or a high-five. Since Bradburn has taught third grade for 24 years, nine in this district, the feeling is clearly mutual. “This age, I think, is just the best age,” Bradburn says with a warm smile. There are a lot of reasons, Bradburn says, but a big one is, at this age, “they have learned, kind of the basics… for example, in reading, they’ve learned how to read, and now we get to read to learn.” She includes herself in that ‘we’ because she is
History detective Tom Burford is Middle School Educator of the Year
No one wants to leave Thomas Burford’s classroom in Snoqualmie Middle School, although the bell has rung. A few students are edging toward the door, as Burford hurriedly finishes telling his story of the four-state April Fool’s joke, but almost all of them wait to hear the whole thing. It’s not just that they went to know what happened, since he tells them up-front what the joke was. They want to know what happened next, to find out how the joke could affect people in four different states, and months later. That’s how Burford, recently named the Snoqualmie Valley Schools Foundation Middle School Educator of the Year, makes the last few minutes of his history class count. “We had just finished with three days of presentations, and we had 15 minutes left,” Burford explained after class. No time for much of anything, but a good story would nudge them down the path of “playing detective” that they’re already on in class.
Marianne Bradburn answers her students’ many questions. also learning. “I never do the same things,” she says. “It’s always changing, because education is always changing.” Twenty-four years ago, when Bradburn first started teaching third grade on Mercer Island, she would never have predicted that she’d stay in the same grade. Now, she wouldn’t even consider teaching another grade. “I do not intend to move from the third grade,” she says. There’s just too much excitement at that grade-level for Bradburn to give up. For instance, “I always teach cursive on the first day of school,” she says. “Third
graders love to learn cursive. It is the best age to do it, because sometimes it takes a long time to get through it, but they’re just chomping at the bit! ‘oh, we finally get to do this!’” In that respect, this year’s class was like her other students, but a few things make this class stand out for her, starting with their number. “This year, I have 30 students,” Bradburn says, the biggest group she’s ever taught, but also one of the most “cohesive and kind” groups, too, for which she says she is truly grateful. Another thing that will keep Bradburn at Opstad, and in the third grade, are her fellow teachers, especially teaching partner Sharon Piper. “We’ve known each other almost all our lives,” says Bradburn, including in their grade school days when they both went to St. Louise Parish School in Bellevue. Their friendship was cemented years later when Piper had Bradburn’s daughter in her classroom, and Bradburn, whose favorite principal and mentor at Mercer Island was retiring, began looking for a new position. She called Piper and asked, “how do you like teaching where you live?” The answer was “I love it! And there’s a third-grade position open!” Bradburn had been preparing herself for the idea of not teaching third grade, but was thrilled to find out she wouldn’t have to make that jump. Her collaboration with Piper in the years since makes her want to share the award, but she doesn’t have to. Piper was named Elementary Educator of the Year in 2011. Bradburn and other educators of the year will be honored at the Snoqualmie Valley Schools Foundation Luncheon, Thursday, March 28, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, visit www.svsfoundation.org.
Burford can’t remember a time when he wasn’t interested in the American story, and in playing detective. He read about historic figures and events throughout school, and still frequently refers people to good reads on history, many from his favorite historical author Stephen Ambrose. “No one gets turned onto history by reading a textbook,” he said. History teacher Tom Burford tells his students a story. Despite his lifelong interest in the subject, teaching hisStudying history, Burford says, is like playing detective. tory is a relatively new phase in his life. It started in the early “Every year, I ask my students if they watch ‘CSI’” he says, 90s when he decided to pursue his teaching certification because the format is like the modern study of history. “We and master’s degree simultaneously. He taught and coached know what happened, there’s usually a grisly murder, and in Missouri, where he grew up, then in Texas where his the rest of the show is figuring out how it happened.” then-wife was transferred for her career. Another transfer Taking that a bit further, “We have the Declaration of brought him to Washington in 1999, and he began teaching Independence, but why was it written? When we can eighth grade history at SMS in 2001. understand that, then we can start piecing together the He’s the only eighth grade history teacher, seeing more than American story.”
Finding their own answers
Counselor Joe Galagan, High School educator of 2013, ponders final year
Snoqualmie Valley Schools Foundation’s High School Educator of the Year is a man with a 25-year history at Mount Si High School. Counselor Joe Galagan has been helping about 400 Mount Si High School students each year to find their own answers, and plans to look for some of his own at the end of the school year, when he will retire. Here, in his own words, is Galagan’s story: “I walked into Mount Si High school for the first time on a bright, sunny day in August 1987. The mountain was scenic, looming and massive, symbolically perched ever so close to the school (or so it seemed at first glance). It was my first day on the job, a recently hired counselor, just a few weeks before the 1987-88 school year was to begin and I remember feeling more than a bit anxious. This was going to be a new experience, different from my previous positions as a vocational rehabilitation counselor handling adult clientele and as an academic advisor at the University of Washington. This was a high school setting; teenagers, variant forms of behavior and possible moments of chaos (as I recalled from my own high school days in Tacoma). Yet, upon walking into the school’s front entrance, I found open office doors, students chatting and comparing class schedules, excited voices, friendly faces and a staff welcoming that has lasted for well over 25 years. Who could have asked for anything more?
I came to the counseling profession via the study of literature, first as an undergraduate student in English (American literature) and then as a graduate student at University College, Dublin (Irish literature). During that sixyear learning experience, I was immersed in comprehensive reading, writing and, most importantly, character studies. This led to a self-directed review of psychology and an ever-developing interest in personality studies. I have occupied a counselCounselor Joe Galagan has helped ing office here in the Mount Si students for 26 years. school for 26 years. In and out of my door have passed a remarkable array of people, young and old, all aspiring for understanding, growth and full lives. I have always believed in the goodness of others. This force remains strong within me and has guided my counseling practices. No matter the obstacles, hardships, or challenges, there remains within us a resiliency to persevere and move forward
130 students every day, but he doesn’t feel alone in that role. “We have a team concept, and I work with wonderful teachers,” he said, adding that the staff at SMS is “very much a family.” He works most closely with the language arts teacher, but he also collaborates with history teachers in other middle schools (Emily Rourke at Twin Falls and, in the past, Dean Snavely) to lead eighth grade students on a trip to Washington, D.C. “It is the highlight of my summer,” he says. “I love that trip…. I love what our founding fathers set up. What they did had never been done before….The Declaration of Independence, what a masterful piece of writing, especially when you break it down, which we do in my class.” The Declaration, and the Constitution with it, are still very relevant today, he says, and he demonstrates that to students with things like a presentation from a guest Highway Patrol officer on the Fourth Amendment. “I try to make it relevant to their own lives,” Burford said, “…when you can tell them how their rights are affected, then they start to pay attention and want to know more.” He also uses humor, he said, “and with middle school kids, the grosser you can make it, the better!”
with confidence and distinction. I have attempted to provide students (and parents) a place to realize this, to find within themselves innate talents, gifts and personal resources. A school counselor opens the door and asks students to walk through into a process of self-discovery. It might be a conversation about academics, family, college aspirations, relationships, personal issues, successes, or disappointments. The key has been to sit with the student, to be present and engaged, to listen and to allow for clarity and comprehension. The school and community have allowed for other ventures tied to my counseling work. For years, I participated in the Natural Helpers program providing over 300 Mount Si High School students the opportunity to attend weekend training retreats at various outdoor camps. Here, alongside other MSHS staff members, we taught helping skills and encouraged empathy and trust-building peer connections. These were special student-centered weekends of learning, sharing, group dynamics and awareness. And each retreat was sponsored and funded by community grants. I am now in my waning days at Mount Si High School. This will be my last school year, number 26, and then a true retirement. What awaits is somewhat unknown but I anticipate days of traveling, writing, walking, and family time. I hope to write a book or two, something about schools and educators and lessons on learning. I have encountered so many talented and dedicated teachers and counselors along the way. I would like to give them their due, to cut through the politics and negativity sometimes surrounding schools and get down to the heartfelt matters of school stewardship. Mount Si High School has a been a worthy place of learning, ripe with notable students and staff. I can say with all honesty that it has been an honor and a privilege working here each and every day since the very beginning.”