At Brewer High School, teachers and staff vote each year for the teacher of the year. This year, the teacher of the year is Mrs. Banat.
This is the first year that Mrs. Banat has been the teacher of the year, but her third year as one of the top three nominees. She has been teaching for ten years, but has been teaching at Brewer High School for now seven years. Before coming to Brewer High School, she taught at Southwest High School in Fort Worth ISD. She has taught all English 2 classes: English 2, Honors English 2 and Pre-AP English 2.
Mrs. Banat has always wanted to be a teacher since she was five years old, and she had four amazing English teachers throughout her high school years.
“I’ve wanted to be a teacher since I was five years old. I never changed my mind about being a teacher when I was growing up, and I never changed my major in college. I knew what I wanted to do, and who I wanted to be.” Mrs. Banat said.
When it comes to voting for teacher of the year, the school district follows a very specific process. Each teacher and staff member submits nominations for 3 categories. Categories are: Teaching excellence, collegiality and cooperation, and lastly, competence and professional wisdom.
A teacher can qualify in the dimension of teaching excellence if they consistently demonstrate: innovative approaches to teaching all types of students, superior teaching techniques, and commitment to students in a way that motivates them to learn and achieve.
Teachers are qualified in the category of collegiality and cooperation if they constantly show: cooperative efforts as a team player, effective problem-solving abilities and reliability.
The last category teachers can qualify for is competence and professional wisdom if they consistently demonstrate: someone whose opinion you value highly; someone whose expert advice you would consistently seek on matters such as teaching methods, student discipline, professional development, and communication with parents; and someone discreet with respect to confidential information.
