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YOU HEAR ABOUT THE TEXAS TEACHER OF THE YEAR COMPETITION EACH YEAR,
and you’ve probably voted along with your peers for the teacher to represent your
school. Many of you may even be among those recognized at the school, district,
regional or state level. But have you ever wondered what steps are required to
make it to the top? TCTA’s Donna Patrick of Wichita Falls can tell you all about it.
On Oct. 30, 2009, she was named the 2010 Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year
(TOY) at a festive awards celebration in Austin, where Gov. Rick Perry paid tribute
to teachers, Education Commissioner Robert Scott handed out the trophies, and
family and friends who had followed Donna’s career were on hand to watch this
well-loved and revered teacher get her due. While Donna was taken by surprise,
others weren’t. “This was one time that hearing ‘I told you so’ felt really good,”
Donna said.

A chain of events led to the classroom
What’s really surprising is that Donna opted for a career in teaching at all, particularly in math. She was just a little girl when she came home from school one day reeling and hurt after a 6th grade math teacher told her “You’ll never understand this. You’re just wasting my time.” But her mother helped turn things around when she looked Donna in the eye and said “You can do anything you put your mind to.” And that’s just what Donna did. By 1968, she had a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and was teaching. Reflecting now on how her math teacher discouraged her, Donna says “she actually gave me confidence that I could help my own 6th grade math students believe in accomplishing anything you put your mind to.” Donna calls her mother “a great teacher” whose life lessons remain vivid in her memory: “She taught me that words were important, but your actions and dedication to your cause will ultimately decide what is true.” Donna’s mother, Burtie Griffin, has a success story of her own – she graduated from high school at age 16, got a college degree 50 years later, and continues to work as a tax auditor in Shreveport.


Another source of inspiration has been Shelby, Donna’s husband of 40 years, who helped and encouraged her to be successful all along the way. “Shelby’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” she says. They met in a freshman speech class and married after college graduation. Shelby has taught high school chemistry for 20 years, after a 20-year career in the Air Force. His years in the service were interesting ones for the young couple, including a three-year stint in England where Donna was a full-reserve teacher (known as a substitute teacher on this side of the pond). Shelby calls Donna “the best natural-born teacher” he has ever known and says, “it would be a challenge to match her teaching skills.” But Shelby has made his mark too, as Teacher of the Year for Hirschi High School in Wichita Falls three
times (1995, 1997 and 2000) and as statewide president of the Texas Classroom Teachers Association in 2004-05.

“Failure is not an option” for Donna or her students
Donna has taught for 30 years and currently is a grade 6 math and language arts teacher at Southern Hills Elementary School in the Wichita Falls Independent School District. “As I look back on 30 years of teaching in various schools (some economically disadvantaged, one overseas), I am proud of the relationships that I have built with my students, coworkers and especially parents,” Donna says. She also has been successful in mentoring student teachers and beginning classroom teachers. But Donna feels her true success is with her students. She is particularly drawn to the struggling students and tells them “I know what it is like.” She is always looking for ways to help them become successful in school so they will have the tools and the desire to be successful in life. While Donna takes a positive and aggressive stance on student success and holds herself personally responsible, she believes the key to success is early intervention and a collaborative effort on the part of the teacher, the student and the family. For Donna, “failure is not an option.” She doesn’t accept zeros in her classroom and expects all work to be completed.

Even though she “tells it like it is” and expects her students to focus on learning first, Donna is a favorite among her students. She loves to create stories with math concepts and share funny tales from her life experiences about former students, her own days as a student, her family, and just about anything it takes to capture a child’s interest. One of Donna’s favorite stories is told during a lesson on inflation, when she describes collecting glass Coke bottles from the side of the road and turning them in at the local country store for 2 cents each. Her students can’t believe that she would walk along the road to collect glass bottles that were only worth 2 cents each, or that she could buy a Coke and a candy bar for a dime.

The road to recognition
Donna was one of two teachers selected by her peers to represent Southern Hills Elementary School in spring 2009 and was named Wichita Falls ISD Teacher of the Year at an awards dinner in April. The WFISD participates each year, selecting an elementary teacher one year and a secondary teacher the next. All district winners are selected by an appointed committee and automatically go on to the regional competition. They are required to complete a comprehensive and lengthy state application, providing biographical information and professional history along with
responses to a number of essay questions. Besides recounting the factors that influenced her decision to become a teacher, Donna described what she considered
to be her greatest contributions and accomplishments in education, and outlined her philosophy of teaching and personal teaching style. She also commented on current education issues and trends, the ways to strengthen and improve the teaching profession and what should be the basis of accountability in the teaching profession.

A panel of judges in each region, composed primarily of members of various education associations, met during the summer to evaluate the written applications
and selected a Regional Elementary and a Regional Secondary TOY. Once judging was completed, regional coordinators forwarded the winners’ original written applications to TEA, where they were reviewed by a judging committee, composed primarily of members of education associations, who then selected six finalists (three elementary, three secondary).

Donna was in Dallas last summer when she received a call from her superintendent letting her know that she had won Region 9 TOY. When she got word that she was one of the three state elementary finalists during the first days of the new school year, she says, “I was so proud, I cried.”

Up to that point, all judging had been done behind closed doors with no personal contact with the nominees. So the next hurdle was a big one: a personal interview in Austin with the larger state judging committee, composed of representatives from education associations, a member of the State Board for Educator Certification and the State Board of Education, and the previous Texas TOYs. Donna came to Austin surrounded by her support team, including Southern Hills Elementary School Principal Joyce Shepard, 2005 Elementary TOY Sherry Lindemann of Wichita Falls who went on to the national competition, and Donna’s husband, Shelby. Donna arrived prepared and relaxed after a mock interview with her support team and a lot of help from Sherry. The judges asked the same questions that Donna had answered in the written application, but added one surprise question that Donna felt she handled with no problem, and she left “feeling great.” What was the mystery question? “If you had to have every teacher attend one inservice, what would that be?” Donna’s reply: “an inservice on teaching children of poverty.”

The big day arrives
Donna traveled to Austin for the awards ceremony a couple of days early and enjoyed a celebratory dinner with regional winners from around the state and a
private tour of the Capitol arranged by Sen. Craig Estes of Wichita Falls. Joining her and Shelby were son Scott, a medical technologist from Wichita Falls, daughter Stacey Batterton (also a teacher) who flew in from Virginia, and Donna’s mother. October 30th was a sunny, crisp fall day in Austin and there was a lot of excitement in the AT&T Executive Center as honorees, families and friends gathered for the ceremony. Also attending the awards ceremony to cheer Donna on were Dr. George Kazanas, WFISD superintendent, Dr. Tim Powers, assistant superintendent, Joyce
Shepard and Sherry Lindemann. As always, the troops rallied and it was a “team event.”

After greetings from the governor and the commissioner of education, Donna was the last of the three finalists to be called to the stage and was asked to stick around since she’d won the top elementary award. She was totally taken by surprise and humbled by the whole experience, saying she never imagined when she won Teacher of the Year at Southern Hills Elementary School that she would go on to win in the school district, Region 9 and the state.

“I just didn’t expect it to be me,” she said, “I feel so honored.” But others weren’t surprised at all, including Shepard who said: “The state just confirmed what we already knew. Donna’s outstanding and in a class of her own.”

During the ceremony, Yushica T. Walker, a teacher at Morehead Middle School in El Paso, was selected as Texas Secondary TOY. She will go on to represent the state in the national TOY competition.

Also recognized at the ceremony were the 39 Regional Teachers of the Year, including several TCTA members.

Responsibilities and perks of the title

As Texas Elementary TOY, Donna will serve as an ambassador for public education, traveling the state and sharing ideas with others. “She’s going to be a wonderful spokesperson for Texas teachers and particularly elementary teachers,” said WFISD Superintendent George Kazanas.

The top two teachers each received a $5,000 cash award, a technology package worth more than $16,000, a trophy and other mementos. After taxes are paid on the $5,000, Donna plans to use the remainder to take her family on a vacation next summer. Southern Hills Elementary School will benefit from the technology package and all staff will receive training.

A member of TCTA for more than 25 years, Donna has been active on both the state and local levels. She has served as a member of the TCTA Directors’ Council (District 9) and the Executive Board as chair of the Teacher Personal Services Committee and the Budget Committee. She was recognized by TCTA as Faculty Representative of the Year in 2006-07. Donna is currently treasurer and membership chair of the Wichita Falls CTA and previously served as president.

In the end, it all comes back to the students for Donna, “I love watching my students learn and hearing them laugh.” In her 31st year in the classroom, Donna vows to continue teaching, definitely a “win-win situation” for her students and others impacted by her dedication and passion. TCTA is proud to call Donna Patrick a member and wishes her the best in all future endeavors!

The Texas Teacher of the Year Program has been sponsored by the Texas Education Agency since 1969. Financial support for the program is provided by a number of corporations and associations, including AT&T, H-E-B, SMARTer Kids Foundation, First Financial Capital Corporation, Intel, TCTA and other education associations.

TCTA is proud to have among its members the last two Texas Elementary Teachers
of the Year. Dora Alicia Newell, a grade 3 teacher at Thigpen-Zavala Elementary School in McAllen ISD, took home the award for 2009 and was kind enough to share her perspective as she completed her year as Texas Elementary TOY.

Updated: 01/04/10 ("The Classroom Teacher," Winter 2009)