Western high school's 2007-2008
Teacher of the Year | NonInstructional Employee of the Year
Mary DeArmas Honored as Western’s Teacher of the Year
Anyone who has the honor of knowing Math teacher Mary DeArmas would certainly say that she is deserving of the title, “Teacher of the Year.” Mrs. DeArmas joined the Wildcat family last year from Indian Ridge Middle School, when she decided she would like the opportunity to educate high school students. She quickly immersed herself into our school culture and became an integral member of our Math Department. Mary’s knowledge of the curriculum coupled with her enthusiasm for teaching, makes her an outstanding teacher who is successful in helping every student reach his/her potential.
For the past two years, Mrs. DeArmas has worked on a collaborative ninth grade team where she and three other educators teach in a non-traditional format to meet the needs of individual students who did not experience academic success in middle school. This team has been very successful in helping students reach their maximum potential as they initiate their high school careers. Mrs. DeArmas’ team helped to foster significant gains in both learning and attendance. Over fifty percent of her students earned more As and Bs in 9th grade than they had in 8th grade. Additionally, 61% of the students she worked with experienced learning gains as a result of the instruction they received on Mrs. DeArmas’ team.
In addition to her stellar performance in the classroom, Mrs. DeArmas takes on a multitude of leadership roles at Western. She has completed her Educational Leadership training and has been involved with the implementation of many initiatives at both the middle and high school levels. She has earned the title of “Teacher of the Month” at Western, Teacher of the Year at IRMS, a PTA Award for “Best Teacher” and the list goes on. Mrs. DeArmas is very active with our football boosters. She has two sons who attend Western and play football. Additionally, she is active at St. Bonaventure church and has assisted with the development of Western’s PTA.
We are so proud of Mrs. DeArmas!!!
Denise Rakestraw honored at Non-Instructional Employee of the Year
Denise Rakestraw joined the Wildcat family from Indian Ridge Middle School at the beginning of the 2007-08 school year. She works in our Guidance Department as our Data Specialist. In this capacity, Mrs. Rakestraw is instrumental in maintaining data and developing reports that enable us to track our students’ progress throughout their educational career.
Mrs. Rakestraw continually goes above and beyond the call of duty at Western High School. She assists with a multitude of projects and is always willing to pitch in and help. She is instrumental in organizing our standardized testing procedures and ensures that all of the policies are enforced and that all student accommodations are met.
Although Mrs. Rakestraw has only been with us for a year and a half, we do not know what we would do without her. She is a team player who is outstanding at what she does. We are so proud of you, Mrs. Rakestraw!! Congratulations!
