2015 OESD 114 Regional Teacher of the Year Kim Witte, 2nd Grade Teacher at PineCrest Elementary School was honored at Central Kitsap School District’s Board Meeting on September 24, 2014.“Learning is a journey. I want to be a part of this journey and help my students reach their destinations.” This is how the Olympic ESD 114 2015 Regional Teacher of the Year, Kim Witte, feels about teaching. And she does her fair amount of journeying, be it traveling to Malawi, Africa to be a part of a team providing professional development to teachers there, to visiting Uganda to help feed over 200 children a day and teach preschool, to volunteering as a camp counselor at a summer camp for foster kids (who she continues to mentor throughout the year).
A National Board Certified Teacher, Ms. Witte views teaching as a calling. “I was meant to be a positive role model”. She uses her positive attitude to encourage and engage both her students and her fellow teachers, and to improve her own teaching techniques. For example, undaunted by failure, she took her National Boards twice before passing with 20 points to spare the third time. In this way, she leads by example. She does not give up when faced with challenges.Ms. Witte says in her Teacher of the Year platform essay, “To look into the heart of a teacher is like looking into the future.” With teachers like this, we have a bright future indeed.
Congratulations Ms. Witte! You are truly inspirational.