Torek named teacher of the year
French teacher chosen second time in four years
By Anne Marie Kyzer Staff Writer

Tonya Torek practices pronunciation with her advanced French class at BCHS. STAFF - ANNE MARIE KYZER

As Tonya Torek moves around her advanced French class, all eyes are on her.

She talks with her students at Burke County High School in a tone that sounds more like they are friends than pupils. They seem interested in every word.

The connection Torek has with them is what drives her and, she believes, what makes them willing to learn.

She must be on to something.

Last week, Torek was named the Burke County Public Schools 2008 Teacher of the Year, an honor she won just four years ago while at Burke County Middle School.

She came to BCHS three years ago to teach French for grades nine through 12 after 10 years at the middle school.

Throughout her career, she has maintained the philosophy that when students know someone genuinely cares, they will do their very best.

As she was introduced before the board of education last Tuesday night, she was quoted as saying, "Students must feel loved before they will feel confident and they must feel confident before they will put themselves in the position to learn."

Burke County Public Schools 2008 Teachers of the Year include Valerie Caldwell of S.G.A. Elementary, Jennifer Fosheé of Blakeney Elementary, Tammy Flakes of BCMS, Tonya Torek of BCHS, Amy Shealy of Burke County Alternative and Tara Cooper of Waynesboro Primary.

Aside from coaching students in pronunciation and grammar in her French classes, she tries to help them discover their strengths.

"…One of the greatest contributions a teacher can make toward education is to have a mission to help students find their talents…Once students find their talents, they have the confidence to take on more difficult tasks and challenges," she said.

Torek said she believes that teaching was God's plan for her. It wasn't her dream job growing up. But during her first semester in college, a professor helped her see that her place was in the classroom.

Now, she wouldn't have it any other way.

Torek calls her job an honor and a privilege.

"No other profession allows the time and resources to impact a life as does this great one," she explained.

To open students up to new learning experiences, Torek organized a Travel Club in hopes of helping them appreciate and better understand different cultures.

She said that the time spent planning trips is all worth while whenever she witnesses a stu- dent discover something new.

When she's not helping children in the classroom or at school, she's helping them in her home. She and her husband, Tyler, are foster parents for Burke County children who need temporary homes. She says that experience has been a "daily testimony to God's grace and care for His children."

Torek, along with with fellow members at First Presbyterian Church of Waynesboro, teaches English to adults who speak other languages.

The Teacher of the Year winners from each school were also honored at last week's BOE meeting.