Ten Sacramento State alumni were awarded the 2010 Sacramento county teacher of the year awards at a countywide teacher recognition banquet.

The 10 Sac State alumni were honored at a banquet as the best teachers in the county. Out of 75 candidates, 15 teachers won the award.

Peggy Green, JoEllen Shanks, Scott Meyer, Jennifer Carlson, Anna Ampania, Donna Hartje, Bob Crongeyer, Christy Fung, Robyn Cox and Reginald Harris are all Sac State alumni who won the award this year.

Green, a seventh grade language arts and history teacher at Sam Brannan Middle School in the Sacramento City Unified School District, praised Sac State for the award. Green said the university prepared her well as a teacher and she cannot think of a better school or program.

“Sac State offered me that non-traditional program which is what I appreciate,” Green said. “I learned a lot of on-the-spot skills which is what I think teaching really is.”

Green appreciated the fact that she was able to start and finish with the same professors. They were enthusiastic about what they taught and went above and beyond their duty as teachers, Green said.

It was simple things that made Green’s professors so special, she said.

For example, they brought in the best artists in the state to teach art. They also gave grants for each participant to spend on their classroom needs, she said.

Shanks, a second grade elementary school teacher at Stone Lake Elementary in the Elk Grove Unified School District, also remembers Sac State and its teachers positively.

“Sac State prepared me very well as a teacher,” Shanks said. “The teachers I was able to go out in the field with were excellent and always helpful.”

While working on her liberal arts master’s degree, Shanks was able to work at the Children’s Center on campus. This gave Shanks an excellent opportunity to gain real world experience and furthermore prepare her for the classroom, she said.

“It was a great opportunity to have the center available to students who wanted to get some experience and work at the same time,” Shanks said.

Meyer, a social science teacher at Mills Middle School in the Folsom Cordova Unified School District, is another teacher of the year award winner for 2010 and optimistically recalls Sac State.

Meyer remembers the program as challenging but one that prepared him for the world of teaching, he said.

He said the program was intense but the classes never felt without a purpose.

All the classes had meaningful assignments and the professors were passionate about the subject, Meyer said. This made the program easier and more enjoyable.

“I chose Sac State because their credential program had a great reputation for preparing teachers,” Meyer said. “Sac State was instrumental not only preparing me for teaching but also getting me ready for the challenges educators face.”

Meyer recalls the times he would go to Round Table and vent with his friends after a long day of teaching, he said.

It has been six years since Meyer completed the credential program and he still talks to the people he met during that time, he said.

Meyer enjoys having the spontaneity and variety of teaching, he said.

His schedule gives him the time to teach a variety of students and cover many different topics, Meyer said.

“One day we will be working on a multicultural fair and the next we will be creating a survival guide for the black plague,” Meyer said.

Shanks and Meyer both received bachelor’s degrees at different CSU campuses and moved to Sacramento for credential programs at Sac State.

Shanks transferred from CSU Fullerton in 1983. She entered Sac State’s master’s degree program and received her master’s in liberal arts in 1986.

Meyer transferred from Chico State in fall 2003 and entered the credential program at Sac State. In the spring of 2004, he completed the program.

This is not the first award for Meyer.

In 2007, Meyer received the Educator of the Year award from Rancho Cordova community council. In 2008, he received the Teacher of the Year Award for Mills Middle School.

“To be recognized for something I truly love is a great honor and something I will never forget,” Meyer said.

Green, Shanks and Meyer thank Sac State for providing them with preparation and ability to handle their careers and provide the kids with attention and education they deserve.

The 15 teachers who won the award will be honored when the Sacramento Kings host the Phoenix Suns on Feb. 5 at Arco Arena. The Sacramento River Cats will host a special Teacher Appreciation Night on May 3.

The teacher award program was presented by the Sacramento County Office of Education in partnership with Maloof Sports and Entertainment, the Sacramento River Cats, Intel Corporation Folsom and the Sacramento Scottish Rite Bodies of Freemasonry.

Blazej Bruzda can be reached at [email protected]