Teachers of the Year Named for 2011

Alcorn, Chalupsky and Winn to be Honored at May 3 Celebration

Lee Elementary teacher Mark Alcorn, Marshall Middle's Jean Chalupsky and Jonathan Winn of Crawford High's School of Community Health and Medical Practices (CHAMPS) have been named San Diego Unified School District's Teachers of the Year for 2011.

The trio will be saluted at the Day of the Teacher celebration, scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 3, at Mission Bay High School. More than 130 Teachers of the Year from individual schools, Future Educator Scholars and the latest class of the district's Board Certified Teachers will be honored.

A Teacher of the Year is selected for each school level. Alcorn is a fifthgrade teacher at Lee Elementary School in South Bay, Chalupsky teaches eighth grade English Seminar at Thurgood Marshall Middle School in Scripps Ranch, and Winn is a calculus teacher at Crawford CHAMPS High School in City Heights.

"This is a trio of extremely talented teachers," said Superintendent Bill Kowba. "They represent everything that is right about being dedicated to students and shaping the next generation of Americans."

A college job as a teacher’s aide allowed Mark Alcorn to apply his computer problem-solving skills to teaching elementary students; he decided teaching was more rewarding so it was good-bye computer sciences, hello elementary school kids. A local product, he graduated from Patrick Henry High School. He has been teaching at Lee Elementary since 2003 and in San Diego Unified for more than 20 years.

A need for a more interesting college job led Jean Chalupsky to teaching, a career that now spans more than 20 years. She's taught at Jerabek Elementary and is currently an eighth grade English seminar teacher at Thurgood Marshall Middle School. Her love of literature and fascination with the writers' historical context continues to challenge her students.

Jonathan Winn has only been a teacher for six years, joining Crawford CHAMPS as a math teacher four years ago. Winn has developed a high voltage classroom atmosphere that inspires high school students to get excited about math and how it shapes everyday life. He's a calculus evangelist, expanding the reach of the program to include an ever-larger number of students.

Alcorn, Chalupsky and Winn will go on to the San Diego County competition along with the district’s three Runners-up for Teacher of the Year, Gay Young from Kumeyaay Elementary, Britney Sandoval from Lewis Middle School, and David Evers from San Diego High School of International Studies.