According to East Baton Rouge Parish School System Superintendent John Dilworth, the district’s 2012 Teachers of the Year from individual school sites represent educators who are exceptionally dedicated, use cutting-edge technology and have time for those in need no matter how busy they are. 

On Wednesday afternoon, April 20, the cream of this crop rose to the top when the School System’s three Teachers of the Year were announced at an awards reception.  The 2012 district Teachers of the Year are:  Candice Hartley of Woodlawn Elementary School, Erica Badeaux of Sherwood Middle Academic Magnet School  and Brandon Hebert of the East Baton Rouge Laboratory Academy.

At the event, which was held at the district’s Office of Professional Development and co-sponsored by I CARE, Neighbors Federal Credit Union and other community businesses, nine district finalists for Teachers of the Year Awards also were honored.  They included:  Angela Clare of Westdale Heights Academic Magnet and Ashley Ransburg of The Dufrocq School – Elementary, Lindsey Decoteau of Glasgow Middle School and MaShannon Harris of Westdale Middle School – Middle and Brandon Levatino of Tara High School and Michele Braud of Baton Rouge Magnet High School – High.

“The one constant in some of these children’s lives is the teacher who fully believes all students can learn.  When I left your classrooms, I was inspired,” Dilworth said of the winners.

Hartley teaches Math and Social Studies to fourth graders at Woodlawn Elementary and has four years experience in teaching – two at this school.  She has a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Louisiana State University (LSU) and also has taught at another School System site.  An LSU student teacher mentor, she is chairman of the Woodlawn Elementary School Capital Area Reading Council, has participated as a career teacher with the Teacher Advancement Program and attended the Mickelson ExxonMobil Teacher’s Academy in 2007.  She is a member of the International Reading Association (Louisiana Reader’s Association), National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, National Science Teachers Association and Teachers Networking Together.  Hartley also is a former U.S. Marine.

“I can’t imagine my life without my children,” Hartley said.  “They inspire me every single day.  We are just a chapter in their lives, and I feel honored to be a part of their story.  One day they will come back and share their success story with me.”

Badeaux teaches Physical Science at Sherwood Middle School, where she has served her entire teaching career (3 years).  She holds an Alternative Teaching Certificate Teaching License followed by a Level 1 Teaching Certificate from the Louisiana Resource Center for Educators and a bachelor in Architecture from LSU.  She actually was an architect when an experience with a teacher her brother was having led her to a teaching career.  At Sherwood Middle, she teaches sixth-through-eighth grade electives like Forensics, Robotics I and II and Lego Architecture.  Badeaux is on the Positive Behavior Intervention Support Team at school and has been voted most valuable professional for the team twice by the student body.  She also is involved in the Teachers Networking Together Group and National Science Teacher’s Association.

“What is simple and very clear is this:  I love kids,” Badeeaux said.  “I love the challenges they bring me each day, the issues they see in themselves that need readjusting and those in me and my own practice that often need a little work.  This profession is made stronger because we share one common understanding:  teaching is a practice, and one should never stop working at improvement.”

Hebert teaches English at EBR Lab Academy, and she has a 12-year teaching career.  With a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from LSU, an Alternative Certification in English 7-12 from Teach Baton Rouge and National Board Certification, she also is active in the East Baton Rouge Parish Association of Educators and the National Council for Teachers of English.  She previously taught at Scotlandville Magnet High School, Baker High School and Parkview Baptist Pre-School.  In addition, Hebert has been a Summer Institute director for Teach Baton Rouge and Content Seminar leader for Louisiana Practitioner Teacher Program and The New Teacher Project.  She has twice won the Neighbors Federal Credit Union Brotherhood/Sisterhood Award and was Teacher of the Year in 2008 at Scotlandville High School.

 “I’m completely overwhelmed and humbled.  I’m excited to the point of tears. I’m so moved by it all,” Hebert said at the reception.  “The best thing about teaching is connecting with the children every day and knowing as much as I affect them, they affect me. And I learn probably more from them than they learn from me.”