Your Name (optional): Pat Schulze
Nominee’s Name: Sandy Hoffner
Building: High School
Subject/Grade Level taught: English
Years of Service: 16
Professional Organizations/Offices held:
YEA SDEA NEA for sixteen years,
SDCTE and NCTE for seventeen years, even in college.
Served on Social Committee and Special Events committee.
Member of the Curriculum Alignment committee for NCLB.
NCTE (attended National conventions in Denver, Milwaukee, Baltimore, Atlanta)
SDCTE in Chamberlain. Presented at SDCTE in 2008.
Community Organizations: _ Trinity Lutheran Board of Education
Trinity Lutheran President of Church Women
Trinity Lutheran Secretary of Executive Council
Volunteer pianist for years
Served the banquet many times
I would like to recognize _Sandy Hoffner____ as the YEA Teacher of the Year because:
I would like to nominate Sandy Hoffner as teacher of the year because she is an outstanding teacher and person in all ways. In her sixteen years of teaching at Yankton High School, she has excelled in the classroom and been selected by the high school as their teacher of the year twice under the old system. She has taught freshman grammar, sophomore composition, American Literature, grammar workshop, creative writing, and forms of fiction. She has been a leader in using technology in her classes, utilizing the mobile laptop lab. In addition to her classroom performances, Sandy has resurrected the literary magazine The Cellar Door and won three state superior awards for this publication. She has also started an after school writers club that meets once a week after school, and has just started a student book club for students who want to read and discuss books.
Working as an NCTE representative, Sandy instituted the high school version of Read Across America where all students read for one hour in all classes. In addition, Sandy started a faculty women’s book club which is in its second year of meeting monthly and discussing books.
Sandy’s contributions to the development of curriculum and reading strategies in the English department have been significant, including her buddy books project between her creative writing classes and first grade classes. This year Sandy has been a member of the NCLB committee working to improve reading curriculum and to institute a 9th grade level class in reading for students with a reading deficit. She has spent countless hours examining reading curriculums and materials to help come up with the best approach for raising our reading scores on the Dakota Step test.
Always striving to develop herself professionally, Sandy completed her Masters degree in English in August of 2001. She attended NCTE conferences in Denver, Milwaukee, Baltimore, and Atlanta, often at her own expense. Sandy has had lesson ideas published in the NCTE publication Notes Plus. And two years ago she capped her achievements by attaining National Board Certification on her first try with points to spare. Since then, Sandy has shared her expertise by helping other teachers going through National Board preparation. This February, she presented her unique method of teaching reading poetry skills and the research paper at the SDCTE conference in Chamberlain.
Sandy has served on NCA committees, the building technology committee,
She has served on many YEA committees in the sixteen years she has been a member.
In addition to all or her professional achievements, Sandy is known by all as a valuable and irreplaceable friend. Her loyalty and willingness to go the extra mile make her very special to all who are fortunate enough to claim her as friend.
I think her dedication to scholarship and excellence, service to the school and teachers, and professional accomplishment through advanced degree, National Board Certification, and committee work and service to church and community make her absolutely at the top of the list of qualified and deserving members of the Yankton School District staff.
Please accept my nomination of Sandy Hoffner as YEA teacher of the year for 2007-2008.