Murrieta Valley Unified Selects its Teachers of the Year

Scott Kosters, a biology teacher at Vista Murrieta High School, makes it a point to get to know each student. He has a special place in his heart for those students who might slip through the cracks.

“I love seeing the shy students come out of their shell and show what they can be when they know someone believes in them," Kosters said.

Kosters, along with two other district teachers, were announced by Superintendent Stan Scheer as the district's 2011 Teachers of the Year.

The honors also went to Shauna Dauenhauer, a science teacher at Dorothy McElhinney Middle School; and Melinda Loera, a second grade teacher at Murrieta Elementary. All three are now eligible to enter the Riverside County Office of Education Teacher of the Year competition.

District Spokeswoman Karen Parris shared a summary of each of this year's honorees:

Scott Kosters

Kosters teaches marine biology at Vista Murrieta High School. He has been a teacher for 15 years. Kosters was named Vista Murrieta High School’s Teacher of the Year in 2010. In addition to teaching his regular classes, Kosters is the Marine Biology Club Advisor; a home hospital teacher through the district’s Alternative Education Program; and he teaches summer school and Saturday school. Kosters can also be found at the school’s varsity football, basketball and baseball games, where he is the public address announcer.

Kosters says he welcomes the challenge of teaching a diverse group of students and he uses a variety of instructional methods to get his students actively engaged in learning through lab experiments, dissections, hands-on activities, current events related to science, research projects and video studies.

Entering Kosters’ classroom, it is easy to see that science is his passion. Kosters has brought the ocean to his classroom with two large saltwater aquariums filled with sea life for students to study. He also provides students with opportunities to go on a plankton tow, local watershed clean-up, whale watching and to the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific.

“My greatest accomplishment as a teacher is to be an influence on students and help them find their passion," Kosters said.

Shauna Dauenhauer

Dauenhauer teaches physical science to eighth graders at Dorothy McElhinney Middle School. She has been a beginning teacher support provider and a mentor to other teachers, providing training on conducting science experiments and the use of Smart Boards in the classrooms. Dauenhauer is the school’s Science Department Chair and Nature Academy Science Club Advisor. Dauenhauer organizes the school’s annual astronomy Star Party and a four-day Science Trip. Dauenhauer was Dorothy McElhinney’s Teacher of the Year in 2010.

Dauenhauer, who has been teaching for 13 years, says her students don’t always enjoy science when they first come into her class but they enjoy her creative and fun approach to the lessons. As a result, by the end of the year, those students change their attitude about science.

Dauenhauer believes in being a role model for her students and she creates an environment of cooperation, challenge, respect, responsibility and cultural awareness.

“I believe the most important aim of education is to teach the student to be his or her own person, to learn how to learn, and to have FUN!” Dauenhauer said.

Dauenhauer said her motivation as a teacher is to inspire students to have a passion for learning science. The reward she receives from teaching is seeing a student understand a new concept.

“I love seeing the light bulb go on and when students don’t understand, I’m flexible enough to use different approaches to help them achieve that ‘a ha’ moment.”

Melinda Loera

In her five years of teaching, Melinda Loera has served as a grade level leader; site coordinator for Ticket to Read and Reading A-Z; and a before-school reading coordinator. She also has served on the district’s report card committee; site council; and helped to write the district’s math benchmark tests. Loera was Murrieta Elementary School’s Teacher of the Year in 2010.

“The satisfaction of making school a positive experience for kids is amazing!” Loera said.

She currently teaches second grade and giving every child the gift of reading has become her mission.

“Being the person who can make sure that every child can read is so rewarding because reading is the foundation for all subjects. School can be a tough place for children if they struggle in reading,” Loera said. “Not only do I believe I can teach a child to read, I make my students believe that they can and will read.”

Her philosophy of teaching is based on a phrase from a book by the well-known children’s author, Theodor Seuss Geisel, who says, “The more you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn the more places you’ll go.”

Loera said she is determined to give each of her students a strong foundation in reading so they will go places in life--confident in their ability to learn.