Lee County Public Schools will name its Teacher of the Year 2011. The surprise announcement, which will be held at the winner’s school, is scheduled for the morning of Friday, February 4.

Each year the process to narrow the nominees down to a select few becomes more and more challenging and this year was no exception, school officials said. All of the nominees have what it takes to be named the county’s top educator and the District is very proud to have them molding the minds of the next generation, said Joe Donzelli, a spokesman with the school system.

Once announced, the Lee County Public Schools Teacher of the Year will then be a nominee for the Florida Teacher of the Year 2012. Below is information on of this year’s finalists:

BARBARA ESNO

She is a fourth- and Fifth-grade full time gifted teacher, Lehigh Elementary School.

For Barbara Esno, teaching provides the ability to have a “profound, positive impact on the world,” officials said. She has learned that when you take time to build a relationship with students and their parents, you have the opportunity to impact the world in a positive way.

“Teaching involves so much more than simply ‘teaching’ the basics of math, science, reading and language arts,” she said. “Good teaching includes developing social skills, counseling children and parents through challenges in their lives and working to develop productive citizens for the world.”

Like all effective educators, she spends many hours working on challenging lesson plans, but even more important, she spends many hours having lunch-time chats with her students to foster and strengthen the human connection.

Enso, who has worked for the District for the past 10 years (the last year at Lehigh Elementary,) also works hard to develop the home-to-school connection, working very closely with her students’ parents, officials said. It’s important to keep the lines of communication open, and she routinely gives parents her personal cell phone number and e-mail address. They know if they need to talk with her that she’s only a few clicks away.

LAURA FURDERER

Furderer is a Pre-K Head Start teacher. Dr. Carrie D. Robinson Littleton Elementary said Laura Furderer knows that teaching is a true calling; one that requires total dedication, a love of all children, a commitment to work side-by-side with families and a willingness to work collaboratively with other professionals. And in her nearly 30 years as an educator (the last eight at Littleton Elementary,) Furderer has gained as much from her students as they have from her.

“I learn with my students and from my students about the excitement of discovering something new,” she said. In her classroom, the “Golden Rule” is modeled every day.

“Treating others the way we ourselves would like to be treated is the norm,” she said. “In my corner of the world, we are all equal, unique, kind and respectful of each other, regardless of the pace of our learning.”

In her classroom, along with the daily lesson plans, Furderer teaches her students that everyone belongs and that everyone is important.

DEBRA GOFF

Goff is a second grade teacher at Tice Elementary School

Spend any time with Debra Goff and one thing becomes clear she brings a positive, “can-do” attitude to school every day. So often people can be brought down by forces outside of their control, but Goff puts those aside to focus on what needs to be done for her students and her school, officials said.

“I am always willing to stay late to prepare my classroom, to help a colleague or to serve my school,” said Goff, who has worked for the District for just over six years (three of which have been at Tice Elementary.)

“I am not just dedicated to my classroom, but to my school and community.”

Her goal is for her students to come to school each day with a feeling of anticipation. She works to foster a love of learning and discovery and she sees each of her students as an individual with their own needs and wants. For her, judging how well a student is doing goes well beyond standardized test scores, officials said.

“Outstanding educators look beyond the numbers and make students feel unique, loved and safe in the classroom,” she said.

NANCY LOUGHLIN

Loughlin is a Language Arts Department chairman, (9th and 10th grade) at Island Coast High.

In her eight years with the District, Nancy Loughlin has learned there is more to education than results from a standardized test, officials said.

“I understand that the golden ring of an FCAT level three doesn’t guarantee an educated soul, nor an open-minded and future-oriented citizen,” said Loughlin, who has worked for the District for eight years. “We want more than mere test scores in exchange for our investment in public education.”

For Loughlin, teaching is an extension of who she is as a person. The educator she is today is vastly different than the educator she was when she first started out in the profession. Where once she believed it was simply imparting of knowledge, today it’s so much more, officials said.

“My classroom approaches were designed mostly to present my own points of view,” she said. “Now, my motivation is to sincerely elevate others, to see myself as a vessel for change.”

LOIS FRANCINE SWICKHEIMER

Swickheimer is a third-Grade Teacher at Treeline Elementary School

Swickheimer embraces a classroom of students each morning with the excitement for what the day has to bring. She knows that she’s there to educate her students, but that it simply one piece to the larger puzzle, officials said.

“So many students have needs beyond learning,” said Swickheimer, who has been teaching in the District for 11 years. “They need me to be their voice if they are ill, need a new set of glasses or have no home and struggle to get to school each day.”

For Swickheimer, teaching goes well beyond the school day it’s making sure the physical and emotional needs of her students are being met. That means she must work to build relationships with the students so they feel secure in asking for her help, officials said.

“It’s important that my students want to be in school and want to learn,” she said. “Educating students is more than a job; it’s my heart this is what makes me who I am.”

PAULA M. YANIGLOS

Yaniglos is a French Teacher at Lehigh Senior High School in Lehigh Acres.

For Yaniglos, education is truly a two-way street. While she’s only been working in the District for the past three years, she realized early on that she learns as much if not more from her students than they do from her, officials said.

“I listen and observe and I learn more about them as individuals,” said Yaniglos. “I genuinely care for my students and have created a ‘family’ atmosphere of mutual respect and concern for one another.”

She also realized that being a dedicated teacher meant she needed to go beyond the classroom. That’s why it’s not uncommon to see her attending extracurricular events and activities where her students are participating. It’s this genuine interest and care that conveys to her students they all matter and it goes to helping ignite that spark for learning, officials said.

For Yaniglos, teaching is a very “human” experience, officials said.

“While it’s important to be knowledgeable, I recognize that teaching is not robotic outstanding teaching comes from the heart as well as the mind,” she said.

All of the teachers are outstanding members of the education profession, officials said. The winning teacher will represent Lee County Public Schools during the 2011/12 school year and will part of the Florida Teacher of the Year process.