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Fort Worth’s Top Teachers of 2020
Once again, we’re honored to recognize Fort Worth’s top educators, as nominated and voted on by the members of the Tanglewood Mom’s Facebook group!
For ten years, Heather Goldman has taught third grade at Fort Worth Country Day. She was inspired to teach by Mr. Behal, her fifth-grade teacher. “He challenged me more than any other teacher I ever had. His class was hard… but he stuck with me and continued to challenge me.” Like Mr. Behal, Heather holds her students “to a high set of expectations, yet [provides] a safe place to fail. Their smiles when they face a challenge and succeed make my heart soar.” Her love for her students is palpable. “When my students reflect… I want them to remember that their teacher challenged them and lifted them up… I want them to smile with fondness and say, ‘Yep, I am a part of Mrs. Goldman’s family.’”
Pam Hulsey has taught for 25 years, all of them at Alice Carlson Applied Learning Center. Her daughter’s second grade teacher, Jeannie Robinson, was an inspiration. “I saw children learning the importance of reading, writing, and math, but also [learning] to think: to think about academic concepts, to think about others, and to take action when it is needed.” As a second/third grade teacher, Pam believes “wholeheartedly in the power of reading, and nothing gives me greater joy than sharing literature with children that inspires them to create change when they see a need, to be stronger than they though possible, and to think beyond the words on the page, imagining possibilities.”
Currently in her 19th year teaching, Sarah Brockway teaches second grade at Fort Worth Country Day. “Teaching is a very creative job, and I enjoy coming up with ways to challenge and relate to my students,” she says. Inspired by Starpoint’s Lisa May (one of last year’s Top Teachers) who taught her son, Sarah works to make a positive difference in her students’ lives. “My favorite part of teaching is the genuine relationship I build with my students. I love being an encouragement to them… and it is important to me for each child to feel proud of their individual successes and know that they are smart, unique, loved, and valued.”
As a freshman in college, Sarah Chance took a class called “Intro to Music Education,” and her career path became clear. The band director at McLean Middle School says, “I definitely enjoyed several of my academic classes… but I just didn’t feel the same connection to other classes as I did to music.” In her classes, she doesn’t just teach music; she aims to “develop a band program where students have a home, a family, and a place of belonging and can develop important life skills such as goal setting, perseverance, and drive.” Sarah believes in the power of band, “Band is so much more than just music – it is friendships, memories, hard work, failure, and success – and… it is my job to create a safe environment for students to explore this.”
Teri Bielefeldt has taught everything from kindergarten to eighth grade. She is now in her 29th year of teaching at St. Paul Lutheran School. Teri particularly loves kindergarten, which she currently teaches. “Kindergarten students are wonderful to teach because they embrace everything with enthusiasm.” Teaching at St. Paul “enables me to encourage faith development in children. This is the most important part of my teaching.” Teri marvels at her students. “Each class develops their own personality… Even though the content remains the same, the way the students learn and grow is different which keeps teaching fresh and constantly changing. I strive to make learning fun and engaging [because] it is important to me that the children grow into lifelong learners.”
Todd Bailey teaches US History and coaches boys athletics at Aledo Middle School. A teacher for 14 years, he was inspired to teach when, as a senior in high school, he was asked to help coach the freshman football team. “Teaching and coaching doesn’t feel like a job. It is a passion and… there is joy and pleasure even on the hardest days.” His junior English teacher, Bruce Henry, inspired his teaching style. “I remember the struggle of learning and the reward of gaining knowledge. Mr. Henry demanded excellence. It is a trait I ask of all my students and athletes every day.” While he could have pursued other careers, Todd says, “Teaching and coaching is a passion for me. I believe it is my calling.”
Amy King taught in Chicago, Missouri, and Pennsylvania before she landed at St. Paul Lutheran School. The fifth-grade teacher says, “In a world that can be quite chaotic, especially by today’s standards, I take comfort in knowing that I am a guiding light to children of an impressionable age.” When asked why she keeps teaching, especially given the current challenges teachers face, she says, “I could say that my students bring fun and happiness to my life, or I could talk about how I consider myself a life-long learner, embracing the challenges in an ever-changing educational world, but the long and the short of it is that I keep teaching because I love it – it’s that simple.”
U.S. history teacher Andrew Thomas has taught at Fort Worth Country Day School for the last eight years. “What really drew me to teaching was the experience of not having a father,” Thomas says. “He died when I was 20 months old. From elementary school through graduate school… I looked for good and decent men to fill that void, and I often found them in education.” Mr. Thomas eats lunch with his students and goes to their games and performances. The teachers who inspired him “had one attribute in common: authenticity. Their behavior in the classroom matched their actions out of it.” When asked what keeps him teaching, he simply says, “The kids keep me coming back.”
Jane Justin School teacher Claire Cartmel grew up in Fort Worth. With degrees from Texas A&M in Youth Development and in Special Education from the University of Kansas, she teaches children ages three through seven with learning disabilities and related behavioral problems. “It is not lost on me that their first experiences at school can shape the way they feel about learning and the classroom in the future.” While she was inspired by many teachers, especially her second-grade teacher Ms. Daniels, she is most inspired by her colleagues. “It is truly a gift to be surrounded by talented, motivated teachers who seek to provide meaningful education every day and push me to be the best educator I can be.”
Texas Tech alumna Dev’n Goodman set out to be an education lawyer but realized that she first needed to understand the education system. Once in the classroom, she “realized that my passion is teaching, and thankfully… I’ve had the opportunity to still engage in advocacy, while remaining in the classroom.” The I.M. Terrell Academy for STEM and VPA Humanities teacher grew up in a family of educators. “My true motivation for wanting to join the ‘family business’ was to advocate that teachers receive the support they deserve, and every student receives the best education for them as a person.” She says that she can attribute “every positive change in myself to a student interaction, whether it was through a conversation… or being challenged…”
Lily B. Clayton Elementary School’s Lori Werth teaches fourth grade. “Is there a more perfect age? Probably not,” she enthuses. Growing up in a family of educators, watching her mother grade papers at the kitchen table, she knew teaching required dedication and love, but she believes “if we can… build the talents and strengths of our children, we can grow and strengthen our community.” Inspired by great teachers all through her school career, Mrs. Werth also credits the teachers she has worked beside for teaching her and informing her work with her students. “This is a creative and dynamic job… I learn and grow every single day… I hope that I have a positive impact, because, the truth is, the kids, my colleagues, and this job all have a positive impact on me.”
Montana native Michael Stephens has been teaching in Fort Worth ISD for 19 years with the last three years at Tanglewood Elementary School. The second-grade teacher feels he has the best job in entire world. “I literally jump out of bed in the morning because I love teaching kids… I especially enjoy when kids begin to understand the connection between effort and success.” Mr. Stephens was fortunate to have many inspiring teachers, but he most remembers his U.S. history teacher Mr. Edmonds, who didn’t teach from a textbook but “shared artifacts he had collected and pictures… he had taken himself.” The father of five says, “This may sound clichéd, but I became a teacher because I wanted to make a difference in the world.”
