TAMPA - When the group of visitors stepped into her Young Middle School classroom Tuesday with roses and a surprise announcement, Julia Cobb Barnes kept right on teaching her sixth-graders.
Even when the cameras flashed, the 38-year teaching veteran didn't miss a beat on a lesson about the novel Tuck Everlasting.
But when the visitors finally explained to Barnes that she was one of 10 Hillsborough Teacher of the Year finalists out of 13,000 teachers countywide, her mouth stopped moving. Her hands flew to her chest and then to her eyes, where the tears were starting to flow. Her students applauded.
"Did I get you?" asked Young principal Brenda Thompson. All Barnes could do was nod and hug her flowers.
"Have you ever seen her speechless?" asked School Board member Carolyn Bricklemyer.
A team from the Hillsborough Education Foundation made surprise visits to each of the finalists Tuesday. One of them will be named the county's top teacher during a Feb. 19 banquet at the Hyatt Regency.
After gathering her thoughts, Barnes said she expects the best from her students, who are in a dropout prevention program.
"I am really their mother here at school," she said. "Once they get off the bus, they belong to me."
When the prize patrol popped into their classrooms, many of the finalists cried, laughed or stood speechless like Barnes. They were described as teachers who go beyond normal duty.
Each finalist will receive a host of gifts, including a cash prize and a scholarship to Nova Southeastern University. The dollar amounts of those prizes have yet to be determined.
"I am shaking so much," said Tiffany Michaud, an administrative resource teacher at Cannella Elementary in Carrollwood, as she accepted the flowers.
At Dowdell Middle School, Debbie Vaughn's mouth dropped open when she was told the news. Her students, all of whom speak languages other than English, laughed.
"Oh my goodness," she said, fanning herself. "Are you sure this isn't a mistake? My heart is just pounding."
Mellissa Alonso, 34, was leading four Valrico Elementary students through a book about the adventures of a pirate when she got word of the honor.
The reading specialist was so surprised she couldn't help but respond like Dr. Seuss. "Hello! Hi! Hello, there! Hi, there. ... Oh my gosh, what is this?" she said.
Alonso gave her students much of the credit.
"It means you guys have worked really, really hard," she told them. "So, this is a gift for us."
A group of administrators chose the finalists from a list of 200 teacher of the year winners from each school. Next month, judges will interview the 10 finalists and select one winner.
"We've got some wonderful teachers in Hillsborough County," said William Hoffman, president of the education foundation. "This is just a small thing we can do to recognize the best of the best."
At McKitrick Elementary School in Lutz, the prize patrol came into a kindergarten class where guidance counselor Dorothy Pease Tellin was working with children.
Last year's Teacher of the Year, Debbie Gil Leslie, gave Tellin a bouquet of red roses. "Enjoy every minute of it," she said.
"I've enjoyed all 29 years of it," Tellin replied.
"The teachers think of her so highly," said McKitrick principal Lisa Yost. "Whenever anyone needs her, she's there. She makes it her business to know every child and every family intimately."
At Ben Hill Middle School, special education teacher Sherie Campbell spoke of her love for teaching, her third profession after serving in the U.S. Navy and then as a legal secretary.
"This is the most rewarding thing I've ever done," she said. "It's part of my life, it's not a job."
Back at Young Middle School, Barnes' students couldn't wait to talk about their teacher.
"She stays on us, to do our work," said Justin Sanders, 12. "She's always willing to teach."
After the hoopla ended, eighth-grader Sheila Overton walked quietly over to Barnes.
"You deserved it," the girl said, her arm around her teacher.
The other finalists are: Elizabeth Barrett Brown, an English, journalism and drama teacher with 11 years of experience at Chamberlain High School; Pamela Allison, a 24-year teaching veteran and math teacher at Middleton High School; Beth Lamb, a music teacher with 17 years experience at Gorrie Elementary School; and Pamela White Ennis, a fifth-grade math teacher with 30 years experience at Ippolito Elementary School.
The Teacher of the Year winner will get cash from the foundation, a limousine ride to school, tickets to sporting events and other prizes, and will go on to compete for state Teacher of the Year.
- Times staff writers Logan Mabe, Marlene Sokol and Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler contributed to this report. Melanie Ave can be reached at 226-3400 or melanie@sptimes.com
