Carol Brouhle
Mathematics Teacher
Westminster High School
Huntington Beach Union High School District
Carol Brouhle teaches mathematics at Westminster High School. She has been a teacher for 24 years and has been in her current position for six years. Her Bachelor's Degree is from the University of Hawaii and her Master's in Education from the University of Illinois.
Ms. Brouhle attributes her love of teaching to her unequivocal family support for education. Ms. Brouhle's parents were first-generation Japanese immigrants who had come to America to work in the cane fields of Hawaii. Both parents were determined that their children would not be placed in a non-English standard school, as was the practice in those days. Therefore, they allowed only English, and not Japanese, to be spoken at home.
Childhood experiences convinced Ms. Brouhle that it is possible to educate children of varying backgrounds and develop each person to their fullest potential so that everyone can participate equally in any activity.
One of Ms. Brouhle's accomplishments has been to implement a magnet program for students interested in careers in math, science and technology. Students spend their first two years in an intensive math/science/technology-based curriculum and spend their last two years on mentoring and volunteer activities in the community.
In 1999 Ms. Brouhle was a Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year. She has participated on many local, regional and state committees. The California Math Council and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics are among the organizations to which she belongs.
Mary Eileen Geer
Reading, Physical Education and Mathematics Teacher
Merlinda Elementary School
West Covina Unified School District
Mary Eileen Geer teaches reading, physical education and math at Merlinda Elementary School. She has been teaching for 14 years and has been in her current position three years. Her Bachelor's Degree is from the United States International University in San Diego (1988) and her Master's Degree in Education from Azusa Pacific University (1996). She has earned a Crosscultural Language and Academic Development (CLAD) certificate. Ms. Geer says that she has known since third grade that she wanted to become a positive leader for our future. She was influenced by teachers, who along with her parents, taught her love, tenacity, compassion, confidence and the importance of education.
Every September, Ms. Geer tells parents that academics are secondary to their children's belief in themselves. She believes that materials alone will not get students achieving at their highest level if the class lacks the most important aspects of teaching and learning: involvement, empowerment, respect, and classroom management.
Ms. Geer has served as a mentor and a Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment support provider among many other things. She started the student council, family education events, a book club, tutoring, volunteer and peer reading programs, and a variety of athletic and student events. Recently, she helped facilitate a new reading program which in fewer than two years has raised student achievement from 16 percent at grade level to over 76 percent.
Awards earned by Ms. Geer include Most Influential Teacher, Outstanding Literacy Teacher of the Year, and various "good apple" awards.
Janet Gower
Health Careers Teacher
Ygnacio Valley High School
Mt. Diablo Unified School District
Janet Gower teaches health careers at Ygnacio Valley High School. She has been teaching for 10 years, eight of which have been in her current position. She earned her Bachelor's Degree from UC Berkeley in 1975 in Dramatic Art and a Nursing Degree from Los Medanos College in 1983. Recently, she completed the CLAD certificate program through the University of San Diego.
One of the highlights of Ms. Gower's career is overseeing the participation of students in Health Occupations Students of America, an organization that is integral to health careers education. It is a co-curricular program that encourages leadership and the personal development of all health career students. As the organization's advisor, Ms. Gower has seen student membership grow from 18 to more than 123 members.
Five years ago, Ms. Gower wrote a grant proposal that funded the purchase of CPR equipment for the school's health academy. She has worked and continues to work developing benchmarks and testing for Health Careers standards.
Ms. Gower serves as a facilitator for the National Health Science Career Path Model. She won the Nurse Week Journal RN Excellence Award and the Most Inspirational Teacher Award from her high school's student body. Professional organizations to which she belongs include California Association of Health Careers Educators, Boy Scouts of America (Merit Badge Counselor), California Health Occupations Students of America, and the American Heart Association (CPR Instructor).
Marvin N. Inmon
Special Education Teacher
James M. Guinn Elementary School
Anaheim City Elementary School District
Marvin Inmon teaches severely handicapped students at James M. Guinn Elementary School. He has been a teacher for 27 years. Mr. Inmon earned his Bachelor's Degree in religion and philosophy from Chapman University in 1973. He has earned two Master's Degrees, one of which is in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling, and is currently working on a third in Special Education.
Mr. Inmon overcame incredible obstacles during his childhood where coping with life was a daily battle. Yet teachers touched his life and developed him into a lifetime learner. They let him help in the cafeteria in exchange for lunch, encouraged his interests in science, and took him to the library.
Mr. Inmon first became a minister, then a counselor, and at last a teacher in the public sector - the latter profession where he found his heart. He says that he has been handed the greatest group of people in whose lives he can invest. His students, he has learned, are capable of actually doubling the best he can imagine for their potential.
Mr. Inmon has earned several awards, authored many publications, and served as consultant to Indian reservations where he has trained leaders, tribal police, teachers and parents. Over the years, he has participated in the Cherokee Language and Culture Institute. He has conducted training at the university level in technology. He has also worked with the Multicultural Commission and the Native American Lutheran Association. Organizations to which he belongs include the Council for Exceptional Children and the California and American Associations of Marriage and Family Therapists.
Chauncey Veatch
Social Studies Teacher
Coachella Valley High School
Coachella Valley Unified School District
Dr. Chauncey Veatch teaches social studies at Coachella Valley High School. He has been teaching for 10 years. Dr. Veatch earned his Bachelor's Degree at the University of the Pacific and his Doctorate at the University of Notre Dame. He attended the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth. He also attended the Octavio Paz Center for Latin American Studies in Guadalajara, Mexico.
After the Gulf War, he entered the Defense Language Institute in Monterey to learn Spanish. In the jungles of Panama, he led a Task Force that built schools, repaired bridges, constructed medical clinics, paved roads, and provided basic medical care.
Science Fair, Math Day, Art Awards, Spelling Bee, History Day - Dr. Veatch's students have won acclaim in almost everything. Twelve students participated in Engineering and Latin American Studies classes at the Naval Postgraduate School. Eight students took classes in Arabic, Korean, French and Russian at the Defense Language Institute. Dr. Veatch's Friday Night Live Chapter won the Riverside County Award for Community Outreach. His Cadet Corps has won trophies in many parades.
Dr. Veatch has served on the Surgeon General's Council on Drunk Driving and the National Task Force on the Homeless and Mentally Impaired. He has been a member of the National Institute on Drug Abuse Advisory Council. Honors include Bilingual Teacher of the Year, Migrant Program Teacher of the Year, Mexican American Chamber of Commerce Educator of the Year, and Outstanding Teacher-First Brigade, Cadet Corps.
