By Chris Tucker
ctucker@centralkitsapreporter.com
Forging youngsters into solid citizens is the aim of this year’s regional — and district — level Teacher of the Year.
PineCrest Elementary School second grade teacher Kim Witte earned Washington Regional Teacher of the Year for Olympic Educational Service District 114. She was notified of her accomplishment July 30.
In May, Witte also won Teacher of the Year at the Central Kitsap School District level.
Surrounded by 24 energetic students in her classroom last week, Witte was busy using sugar-cube-sized plastic cubes to teach the kids how to “build” three-digit numbers. The students also had pieces that were 10-cubes long, and squares containing 100 cubes. The exercise was a precursor to learning about multiplication.
“If I’m going to build 687 — because what you’re doing is building numbers — how am I going to build 687?,” Witte asked the children.
The children eagerly used the blocks to find a solution: six 100-cube grids, eight 10-cube strips and seven individual cubes. The correct answer, but one child had his mind on art instead of mathematics and had arranged his blocks into the form of a penguin.
“OK, but remember, we’re not building creatures,” Witte good-naturedly advised the young Picasso.
“I always like to challenge the kids,” Witte said. “I like to hold my expectations high because I think any kid can reach it if we help them.”
As an aside, Witte slyly mentioned to her class that two 100-cube blocks were equal to 20 ten-cube blocks, or equal to 200 single-cube blocks.
“I just said, ‘Oh my gosh, those who want to do multiplication, it’s like 20 times 10 is 200.’ So some kids were writing it on their journal because they were just really excited.
“Some of them get it and some of them are just exposed to it and hear it so that down the road they can go, ‘Oh, wait, I have heard that (‘multiplication’) before.’”
Her students learn reading, writing, mathematics, social studies, science, social skills and more.
Witte has been teaching for 15 years at several area schools including Seabeck Elementary, Woodlands Elementary and — for the past three years — at PineCrest.
Witte said she always felt drawn to teaching as a career. Her mother, Linda, taught pre-school for 30 years. When Witte was a second grade student, her teacher had laryngitis and Witte was asked to take roll call.
“That was always the icing on the cake,” she said.
Witte studied elementary education at Western Washington University and worked at Disney World during the summer doing retail work at Fantasyland. Today, an army of little Mickey and Minnie Mouse figurines stand along her schoolroom desk. Witte said the figures let the kids get to know her as a person.
She refers to her class as “friends” while teaching.
“I appreciate friends who are following directions,” Witte said while teaching last week, for example.
“Some teachers use the word ‘kids’ … I know one use the (phrase) ‘little lambs.’ I just use the word ‘friends’ because I explain to the kids that this isn’t my classroom and this is not their classroom — it’s our classroom. Together we’re a team … they don’t have to be your best friend but you have to get along with everyone. And I just think that sets a tone for the whole year.”
In addition to educating Kitsap’s future leaders, Witte has also spent time teaching in Malawi, Africa. From 2004-2013 Witte spent several weeks each summer teaching in Malawi. Several photographs of her trips there adorn a classroom wall.
This is the first time Witte has won “Teacher of the Year,” but previously she had been awarded the Parent-Teacher Association’s “Golden Acorn.”
She’s modest about being recognized for her work.
“I am not in education to get awards or ‘big checks’ or recognition,” she said. “I just do it because I love children and I love seeing them experience life. Not only do I have to teach them about academics and how to write and read and everything. I think another important part of my job is to teach them how to be a student.”
