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Associated PressA special education teacher who has written 15 children's books and more than 40 articles wins the annual award.
ORLANDO - A Jacksonville special education teacher and literacy coach for kindergarten and first-grade students was selected Tuesday night as the 2004 Florida Teacher of the Year.
Dayle Timmons of Chets Creek Elementary won a $10,000 check from awards sponsor Burdines, a crystal trophy and $1,000 for her school. Timmons has written 15 children's books, plus published more than 40 articles in professional magazines and textbooks.
In her acceptance speech, Timmons lauded parents, who she said play the most important role in the educational process.
"As a teacher, I am honored to stand with you," said Timmons, who began her teaching career in 1970. "As a parent, I am awed by what you do."
Timmons, who will spend the 2003-04 academic year away from the classroom and touring the state as the Christa McAuliffe Ambassador for Education, said she takes pride in representing what is good about teaching.
"I felt a special call to this profession," Timmons said. "It is what I was meant to do, as it was my mission in life."
She also said working with special education students was not a challenge, but instead an opportunity to truly leave a positive mark on a child's future.
"It's my responsibility to open the gift that each child has," Timmons said.
The annual ceremony was held at Universal Orlando's Hard Rock Live.
Last year's winner, Gainesville seventh-grade science teacher William R. "Randy" Scott, hosted this year's show, carried on public television stations throughout the state. Scott teaches at P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School.
Other speakers included Florida Education Commissioner Jim Horne and Burdines chairman and CEO Tim Adams.
Timmons, who is active in the Parent-Teacher Association, the Chets Creek Leadership Team and the Duval County Early Childhood Special Education Committee, is listed in Who's Who of American Women, Who's Who in the World and Who's Who in American Education.
In addition to her teaching duties, Timmons also mentors young teachers. She used the $1,000 she received for winning the Duval County Teacher of the Year award and paid for two other Chets Creek teachers to take a literacy training course at Columbia University.
The other four nominees for the state honor all received $5,000, plus $1,000 from Burdines for each of their schools. Those finalists were:
Debbie Gil Leslie, Pride Elementary, Hillsborough County. Leslie uses puppetry and ventriloquism in her kindergarten classroom, as well as live animals and a garden. She also relies on the assistance of her family, from her Cuban-born mother to her brother, husband and sons.
Jane Koszoru, the College Academy, Broward Community College Central. Koszoru comes from a three-generation family of educators - her grandmother, mother and two sisters are teachers, and her daughter is studying to become a teacher. The 11th-grade English students of "Mrs. Work" earn high scores on standardized tests and win numerous writing awards.
Cathy S. Purdon, Oriole Beach Elementary, Santa Rosa County. The first-grade teacher co-authored "A Guide for Balanced Literacy in Elementary Classrooms," a handbook for literacy development in elementary school settings.
Patricia Shaw, Vero Beach Elementary, Indian River County. The 18-year veteran worked last summer on the Indian River County Curriculum Integration Team, working to integrate science and social studies into the language arts program. Shaw comes from a teaching family and volunteers in local nursing homes.