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Dr. Vickie Mike, foreign language teacher at Horseheads High School, was the 2009 New York State Teacher of the Year. NYSAFLT submitted her name and dossier to the Northeast Conference, and after a rigorous and competitive selection process, Dr. Mike was named NECTFL Teacher of the Year for 2009. She now will compete with four other candidates from regional associations across the nation for the national title of ACTFL Teacher of the Year. Dr. Mike will travel to San Diego in November and participate there in ACTFL convention activities related to the Teacher of the Year award. The purpose of this award is to elevate the status and the public profile of the language profession at the state, regional and national levels.
A Horseheads High School graduate, Dr. Mike has been a teacher for more than 30 years. She began her teaching career in the Rochester and Buffalo areas. In 1980 she returned to Horseheads and is in her 29th year with the Horseheads Central School District. In addition to teaching, she is the district's department chairperson for Languages Other than English (LOTE).
Dr. Mike has received several honors during her teaching career. She has been the recipient of a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Humanities Award, the Horseheads National Honor Society Teacher of the Year, and the Twin Tiers Outstanding Educator Award. Most recently, in October of 2007, she was invited to participate as a Delegate of World Language Educators Symposium in China.
In addition to teaching Spanish, Vickie Mike is actively involved in professional development institutes and workshops for teachers. She has presented many workshops on curriculum, instruction, assessment, and technology for teachers. She is dedicated to preparing students and teachers to be global citizens who embrace lifelong learning.
Vickie Mike earned an Associate's degree from Corning Community College in 1973, a Bachelor's degree from Brockport State in 1976, a Master's degree from State University of New York at Buffalo in 1983, and a Doctorate in Education from Binghamton University in 2000.
As an undergraduate and graduate student, she studied abroad at the Universities of Seville, Salamanca, and Madrid, in Spain, as well as at the University of Besançon in France.
Dr. Mike lives in Elmira with her husband Tom. Her personal interests include travel, art, historic homes and neighborhoods, the First Tee Golf Program, and golfing.
Dr. Mike's colleagues, supervisors, and students have all written in glowing terms about her achievements and impact on them. A fellow teacher writes "the following words come to mind when I think of her" fair, constant, cool under pressure, kind, funny, hard-working, dedicated, and joyful, and also "Every student in her class is treated as an important individual. She has established a high standard for all her students, Serving under Dr. Mike's leadership as department chair, this person goes on to state: "We are encouraged, never badgered, to hop on board [with new technology]." Dr. Mike's principal adds "My ultimate goal for the students of Horseheads High School would be to provide a teacher of Vickie Mike's caliber in each and every classroom."
The Board of Directors of the Northeast Conference puts forth Vickie Mike's name with warm enthusiasm and complete confidence that she would be an outstanding spokesperson for our profession. We invite conference attendees to join us in wishing her well as her candidacy moves forward!
The Board of Directors also warmly congratulates and thanks the finalists for the 2009 NECTFL award. They are consummate professionals and exceptional representatives of the states whose associations chose them to be Teachers of the Year:
Patricia Cummins, Virginia Commonwealth University Foreign Language Association of Virginia
Isabel Espino De Valdivia, Pittsburgh Allderdice High School Pennsylvania State Modern Language Association
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