GTC’s Camacho is Teacher of the Year

Language Arts specialist Charlotte Camacho of the Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School was named the CNMI’s Teacher of the Year for 2005 during a drizzly Education Day festivities held at the driving range of the Laolao Bay Golf Resort yesterday.

William DeWitt of Saipan Southern High School was named first runner-up; Teresita Reyes of Oleai Elementary School was second runner-up.
The three Executive Awards for Excellence in teaching were announced by Education Commissioner Dr. Rita H. Inos, with Camacho topping 20 qualified teachers—though only 17 met the final qualification deadline—considered for the award.

Camacho is a 10-year veteran teacher in the Public School System. An early childhood education major, she graduated from San Diego State University and has been a kindergarten and first grade teacher. A member of her school’s leadership team, she coordinates her school’s accreditation self-study. She is also a member of the Language Arts Committee, which, along with other teachers, annually reviews the Standards and Benchmarks and the assessment tools for the core curriculum subject.

Active in community outreach involvement, Camacho includes forensic competitions, book fairs, interscholastic academic challenges, walk-a-tons for a cause, fundraising for charity, and community vigils for heightened social awareness and consciousness among her extra-curricular engagements.

The Saipan Southern High School Band and Ensemble, which performed during the day, stands as a witness to one of William DeWitt’s numerous accomplishments. A faculty member of SSHS since its inception in 2002, William DeWitt has been a CNMI resident since 1993. DeWitt has molded SSHS as one of the premier fine arts schools on Saipan. Programs in the school curriculum range from Choir to Ceramics, Visual Arts, and Band. Believing in the need for a well-rounded, complete education, DeWitt integrates to the content of the core curriculum academic and aesthetic resources of music and arts.

Teresita Reyes has taught at Oleai Elementary School since 1989. An active contributor to the assessment and refinement of PSS Science Standards and Benchmarks, she has consistently been involved in ensuring that her school meets accreditation standards. Coordinating ancillary concerns to the core curriculum, Reyes’ involvement extends to drug education, HIV and childhood obesity programs. She has also taught Adult Basic Education through the years.

In addition to the prize from the Executive Award on Excellence, Teacher of the Year Camacho also received a cash prize from Joe Ayuyu of McDonald’s Saipan, and a privilege card from the Laolao Bay Golf Resort.

Camacho will join fellow awardees across the nation in a national conference later this school year in Dallas, Texas.