It has all come down to this, after two days of carefully reading and scoring 24 applications of Fayette’s top teachers, the judges have named three teachers the 2018 Teacher of the Year finalists.

The finalists for the teacher of the year honor are Angela Sattinger, Fayetteville Elementary; Natalia Nizker, Robert J. Burch Elementary; and Richard O’Brien, Rising Starr Middle.

Each finalist will be observed in their classrooms and interviewed by the judging panel, which consist of two retired educators and last year’s county winner, Shaylen Dixon of Peachtree City Elementary. The teacher with the highest combined judges’ score will be named the 2018 Fayette County Teacher of the Year.

The winner will be announced at the annual celebration on April 12 at New Hope Baptist Church, South Campus, starting at 6 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.

After exploring several careers in corporate America, Angela Sattinger, a fourth grade teacher at Fayetteville Elementary, decided she wanted to pursue teaching.

Only after taking one education course during her senior year of college, she knew that teaching was her dream job.

For Sattinger, education is more than just gaining factual knowledge and numerical grades; it is about improving her students’ ability to use information to solve problems.

“I want my students to dream big, set goals, and achieve their own personal vision of success,” she says.

In her classroom, Sattinger encourages her students to set goals, discuss planning and organizational skills, and focus on controlling their circle of influence.

One of the most important lessons Sattinger has taught is the importance of achieving tough goals. She asks each of her students to set personal goals then recognizes their successes on her “Wall of Fame.” However, she wants her students to understand that goal setting is more about the journey than the victory. She asks her students to keep a data notebook charting their academic progress and personal goals so they are able to reflect on their performance throughout the year. 

Sattinger says, “We discuss frustration and working through it. My students know frustration means they are moving out their comfort zone and growing.”

“As I strive to promote grit in my students, my classroom atmosphere is conducive to risk taking and I seek out learning opportunities in our failures. As a class, we persevere one day at a time!”

With ten years as an educator, Sattinger has spent nine years of her teaching career at Fayetteville Elementary.  

Accountability, critical thinking, and excitement for learning are the three values that Natalia Nizker, a fourth grade teacher at Robert J. Burch Elementary, instills in her students on a daily basis.

As a Russian native, Nizker came to the United States in 2006 and began teaching and impacting young minds.   

She believes that every child can succeed given the necessary supports which is why she strives to create a positive learning environment in her classroom.

Whether it’s a simple phone call to parents or a parent-teacher conference, Nizker believes that developing positive and meaningful relationships with her students and their families is the cornerstone of successful education.

She says, “Students who have deep meaningful relationships with their teachers are more successful than those with just classroom relations.”

Nizker is a firm believer in allowing all children to express their intelligence in other ways beyond a gifted program. In her classroom, she looks at students from a broader perspective and embraces the idea that children are gifted in a variety of ways.

She states, “I see intelligence and giftedness now as an evolving quality, rather than a fixed trait, believing that every child can perform at higher levels and nurturing their various traits.”

Having been an educator for 11 years and a teacher at Robert J. Burch Elementary for two years, Nizker believes, “The teaching profession is one of the most critical vocations because it lays the foundation for the rest of occupations.”

His middle and high school teachers would be shocked to find out that Richard O’Brien became a teacher, especially a math teacher.

O’Brien, a sixth grade math teacher at Rising Starr Middle, acknowledges that he was not the most studious nor the highest achieving student during his high school years, and did not know what he wanted to do after graduation.

After diving into a seven-year career in manufacturing and engineering, O’Brien decided he had a passion for helping others, and teaching became the most natural choice.

O’Brien is motivated and energized by seeing young students try and succeed. He says, “Being a ‘math’ person, I want to see growth reflected in data and statistics, but as an educator, I also want to see an increased desire to learn and grow.”

After witnessing students in his math support classes comparing themselves to high achieving students, one of O’Brien’s goals as a teacher has been to build his students’ confidence.

He uses the Star Test as way to increase student confidence; this test shows students that many times they are well above the national average in math when compared to their peers nationwide. For others, it shows that they are growing in ability at a rate faster than average.

“I want this to be earned confidence and not over-inflated self-esteem. It is important that the students can honestly evaluate their abilities and see the areas of improvement needed,” he says.

With 28 years of teaching under his belt and three years at Rising Starr, O’Brien says his message remains the same “Be the teacher that people remember for the right reasons and strive each day to be a positive influence on others. You never know what you will be remembered for, but you will be remembered.”