Teacher of the Year
2012 Worcester County Teacher of the Year:
Tony Bevilacqua
Worcester Technical High School,
U.S. and World History
Tony Bevilacqua's philosophy of teaching goes beyond helping his students to master U.S. and World History curriculums. He believes that his responsibility as a teacher is to help his students cultivate wisdom. "Wisdom," he says, "is about making well-informed decisions that positively affect one's life and community. Wisdom is also about being able to feel empathy, tolerance, and a drive for community involvement."
Bevilacqua infuses this teaching philosophy into daily instruction. "My lesson plans are inquiry-based and students must analyze multiple sources and perspectives before they may draw a conclusion about a particular issue or viewpoint. Before choosing a side to support, my students have thoroughly weighed not only the ideological debate behind a topic, but they have also empathized with each point-of-view, taking into account the emotional stakes involved."
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Bevilacqua's goal is to prepare students for life after high school graduation. "I want to prepare students to become educated citizens who exhibit wisdom in their thoughts and actions and are prepared to become wise and competitive leaders."
Race to the Top is an education reform that Bevilacqua embraces. "I truly believe that once we fully dissect, understand, and implement the Race to the Top initiative, we will see significant gains in both student performance and achievement." He sees the initiative as being "both practical and worthwhile for improving students' abilities to compete in an increasingly global and competitive world economy."
Bevilacqua has been teaching history and language arts for 11 years, two of which have been at Worcester Technical High School. Certified to teach Social Studies, English, and English as a Second Language, Bevilacqua graduated with two Bachelor of Arts degrees from the College of Charleston, earned a Masters from Virginia Commonwealth University, and is currently seeking a Masters from Salisbury University. He serves as a cooperating teacher for interns.
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2012 School-Level Teachers of the Year:
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Deborah Angelonga...................................Cedar Chapel Special School
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Mary Berquist..............................................Stephen Decatur High School
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Tony Bevilacqua.........................................Worcester Technical High School
Undrea Blake................................................Pocomoke Middle School
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Amy Braciszewski......................................Showell Elementary School
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Jennifer Dale................................................Buckingham Elementary School
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Kirsten Danisavich.....................................Ocean City Elementary School
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Gretchen Hancock.....................................Stephen Decatur Middle School
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Patricia Hultquist........................................Pocomoke Elementary School
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Leanne Scarborough................................Snow Hill Middle School
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Brenda Short...............................................Snow Hill High School
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Rebecca Stevens........................................Pocomoke High School
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Kelly Thaw....................................................Berlin Intermediate School
Connie West.................................................Snow Hill Elementary School
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