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Pam Clark, Secondary Teacher of the Year
Philosophy of Teaching
One of my favorite times of day is when the first bell rings that allows students access throughout the building. It is during this start of the day that the energy of the students courses through the building practically illuminating the hallways. As the hallways become charged with the voices of so many teenagers, I know my decision to become a teacher was the correct career path for me. The pure joy I feel as I see the students provides a vital energy that I take into the classroom with me. In Edward P. Jones’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel "The Known World," Fern Elston says “A woman born to teaching wakes in the morning desperate to be near her pupils. I was that way. I am that way.” Fern, so am I.
'Students, no matter the age, want the same thing.'
As I followed my husband, a retired military officer, around the United States and parts of Europe, I taught a variety of students including junior enlisted soldiers, American and European army wives, middle school students, and high school students. At some point, I discovered students, no matter the age, want the same thing. They want to learn.
They may not want to learn the subject I happen to be teaching, but they want to learn. My job is to wrap my subject in their interests. This belief was reinforced recently when one of my reluctant readers finished her assigned memoir two weeks ahead of schedule. When she asked me what in the world was she supposed to read over Thanksgiving, I simply handed her another great memoir. She did twice the amount of required reading and performed at a higher level than previously on every assignment. I will cherish the pride I heard in her voice when she called home to tell her dad she had earned an A on her report card for the first time ever in English.
'The best discipline plan is a good lesson.'
Over the past few years, the Plano ISD has given me the opportunity to attend many training opportunities. The College Board AP conference, the state AVID conference, the Plano Writers Leadership Academy, The Team Leader Academy, and seminars aimed at teaching students with diverse backgrounds and special needs are just a few of the professional development courses in which I’ve participated.
The commonalities among seminars have proven that effective teaching strategies do not belong to any one group of students. Interactive lessons where students spend the majority of time questioning and discovering answers to their questions based on themes of importance to them keep students motivated. In short, good teaching strategies are just that, good teaching strategies, and a fascinating, interactive lesson appeals to all students regardless of cultural differences or learning abilities. My first principal told me the best discipline plan is a good lesson, and I find that is still true today. When students are happy, busy, and challenged, they don’t have time to create disruptions.
'I hate English, but I love your class.'
At my home campus, I am surrounded by the best teachers and teaching practices found. I borrow classroom management strategies from them; I tweak their cooperative learning devices to fit my curriculum; I adopt their successful use of technology. I also strive to provide inspirational teaching strategies to my peers. Through this I model for my students the behaviors of a life-long learner who is dedicated to the success of the team. I want them to see me utilizing my resources to find answers, questioning the information I receive, and decoding the answers presented to me. Most importantly, I want them to see me having fun along the way.
The highest compliment I have ever received was from a student who told me, “I hate English, but I love your class.” My students know we are going to read often, write often, and laugh often. I try to provide intellectual lessons that also entertain them, and the students most certainly entertain me. The funny, quirky, sharp wit of my students brightens my days. Teenagers can spot insincerity instantly.
Whatever success I have in the classroom, derives from the fact that I genuinely like my students and they know that. Indeed, I do awaken desperate to see them and am always ready for that first bell to ring to start the day.
Educational / Professional Background
University Degrees
- MPA - 1991, Troy State University, Memmingen, Germany
- BSE - 1986, Emporia State University, Emporia, Kansas
Certification in English and journalism
Teaching Experience
Vines High School, Plano ISD 2006 – Present
English Teacher / Department Chair / Mentor Teacher
- Designed and implemented tutorial program to increase state testing passing rate to 97%
- Plano English II Final Exam Writer
- Saturday TAKS Tutorial Teacher
- Friday Night Live Tutor
- District Book Study Group Member
- JCCV and Chicks with Books Club Sponsor
- Attended professional workshops including the PISD Team Leader Academy, Plano Writer’s Leadership Academy, College Board AP Summer Workshop, AVID Site Team State Conference
- Supervised a student teacher from UTD
Plano ISD, 2004 – 2006
Substitute Teacher
- Completed long-term substitute positions at Mathews Elementary School and Jasper High School Completed daily substitute positions at a variety of central cluster schools
Plano, TX 1998 – Present
Community Volunteer
- Operation Kindness No-Kill Animal Shelter Volunteer, 2006 – 2009
- Liaison to Samaritan Inn, 2005 – 2006
- National Charity League Volunteer, 2005 – 2009
- Plano ISD Health Care Advisory Committee, 2004 – 2007
- Schimelpfenig Middle School Volunteer of the Year Panther Pride Award, 2004
- Volunteer Center of Collin County, Volunteer of the Year Nominee, 2003
- PTA Lifetime Membership Recipient, Mathews Elementary, 2003
- PTA Executive Board Member at Jasper High School, Schimelpfenig Middle School, and Mathews Elementary School
- Girl Scouts of America, Troop Leader 1998 – Present
- Boy Scouts of America, Den Leader/Merit Badge Teacher/Summer Camp Counselor, 1998 – 2007
Excel Personnel, 1996 – 1998
Office Manager
- Led a team of twelve employment placement counselors
USD 501, 1995
English Teacher
- Taught English core courses and electives at the Topeka Education Center, an alternative education program for at-risk students
- Developed individualized lesson plans for each student
- Participated in group educational strategy sessions for adolescent maternity students
Lewis Chapel Junior High School, 1991 – 1995
- English Teacher /Interdisciplinary Team Leader / Yearbook Sponsor
- Increased state test scores, school ranked first in Cumberland County, NC
- Presented professional development classes for district teachers
- Co-wrote site based alternative education process that was adopted by cluster
- Lead a team of five teachers
- Supervised the school yearbook and school newspaper
- Secured grant funding and directed the school’s first all-school play
U.S. Army, 1986 – 1990
- Social Services Representative /BSEP Instructor
- Taught Basic Skills Education Program courses to U.S. soldiers seeking promotion
- Taught The Prevention of Sexual Harassment classes to military and civilian personnel
- Served as Installation Volunteer Coordinator in Goeppingen, Germany
- Lead seminars on Job Search Techniques in a foreign market
- Family Support Group Leader
School
Principal Recommendation
To the Teacher of the Year Selection Committee:
Please accept this unequivocal recommendation of Pamela Clark for Plano ISD’s Experienced Teacher of the Year. Pam currently teaches on-level and honors English II at Vines High School and serves as the English department chair.
During the three years Pam has taught at Vines, she has been very involved in the school and district. She has played an integral part of the School-Based Improvement Committee (SBIC), Admission Review and Dismissal (ARD) committees, and AVID site team. Additionally, she has mentored new teachers and supervised a student teacher. Before becoming a full-time teacher in the Plano ISD, Pam substituted in the district and was a parent volunteer. In 2004, Schimelpfenig Middle School named her Volunteer of the Year. She has also served on the PTA Executive Board at Jasper High School, Schimelpfenig Middle School, and Mathews Elementary School. She has also served on the Plano ISD Health Care Advisory Committee for three years.
Pam definitely gives new meaning to the cliché, “can-do attitude,” because rather than hesitating when faced with a new challenge or project, she eagerly not only says she can, but usually wants to know how she “can do more” to help. One result of Pam’s leadership and ability to impact student achievement is the reading/ELA scores of Vines students. Over the past two years as department chair, she has focused her team on specific goals resulting in remarkable improvement in overall student performance on the TAKS reading and English Language Arts tests.
According to the 2007-2008 AEIS performance results, the performance of all students on the reading/ELA TAKS test improved three percent, growing from ninety-four percent to ninety-seven percent. African American students’ scores increased six percent, Hispanic students’ scores increased nine percent, white students scores increased three percent, and economically-disadvantaged students showed the greatest growth with an eleven percent increase, bringing their passing rate to ninety-one percent. In addition, Vines earned a Gold Performance Acknowledgement from TEA for comparable improvement in Reading/English Language Arts (ELA) on the Spring 2008 exam. The commended performance on the ELA exam also rose from 33% in 2007 to 53% in 2008.
But Pam does not live and breathe by TAKS alone. She supports our AVID program as a member of the site team and promotes AVID instructional strategies throughout the English department. In addition, she has attended Advanced Placement training and networked with teachers at Plano Senior High School to ensure adequate skill development and smooth transitions for our students.
Yet the reason Vines chose Pam as its Experienced Teacher of the Year is because of her incredible passion which impacts the lives of her students on a daily basis. A master teacher, she weaves together a vast knowledge of the curriculum and instructional strategies, an interminable desire to instill a love of reading and writing in her students, and a genuine belief that all of her students can learn and succeed.
In order to ensure her students’ success, she positions herself right beside them in their journey, often lifting their spirits with a gentle pat on the back or a simple conversation where she shares her observations of a student’s untapped talents. A variety of learning strategies are used to engage her students, some of which are research based and some of which are the result of sleepless nights where she tosses and turns in an attempt to create just the perfect activity to excite and inspire her students to reach higher, discover more, and think deeper about the subject matter.
One of Pam’s greatest qualities is her love for the struggling learner. She not only welcomes these students into her classroom, but she seeks them out. In an e-mail sent early one Sunday morning, Pam inquired about a student whom she had met in a tutorial session on a Friday evening. She felt this student had a need for additional attention from the staff due to suspected learning differences, and she was e-mailing to inquire as to what she could do to assist in the effort to support his academic struggles. Clearly, this early morning e-mail was the result of another sleepless night, this time the result of worrying about her newfound friend in need.
This effort may not seem exceptional until you realize that neither her newfound friend nor any of the other students she was working with that Friday evening were her own students. She had simply learned earlier in the week that a number of English I students had failed to complete a major project, so she secured administrative support and decided to open a computer lab on a Friday evening to ensure they finished the project. Ultimately, she cannot stand to see a student fail.
Without a doubt, Pamela Clark is one of the most passionate, dedicated, and sincere teachers we have worked without throughout our years in education. We are excited for the district selection committee to meet Pam during her Teacher of the Year interview and are certain her positive spirit and tireless enthusiasm will inspire you. Her dedication has endeared her not only to her students but to their parents and her peers, as well. She is a revered member of the Vines High School team and would represent the district in exemplary fashion as Plano ISD’s Experienced Teacher of the Year.
Sincerely,
Sarah Watkins, Principal
Vines High School
Janis Williams, Assistant Principal
Vines High School
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