Ocean View School District names Anne Brasie and Noel Clancy its Teachers of the Year

In a challenging year for teachers, Anne Brasie and Noel Clancy have stepped up to the plate.

The Ocean View School District this week named the pair of educators its 2021 Teachers of the Year.

“These teachers are very bright lights in our district and known for their leadership, enthusiasm, kindness, perseverance and certainly grit during the past year of COVID-19 challenges,” Ocean View School District Supt. Dr. Carol Hansen said.

Brasie is a third-grade Virtual Academy teacher from Circle View Elementary School in Huntington Beach, while Clancy is primarily a sixth-grade math and science teacher at Vista View Middle School in Fountain Valley.

The district board of trustees will honor each of them at its meeting on April 13.

Brasie is also the district’s nominee for the county-level Teacher of the Year program, which is coordinated by the Orange County Department of Education in the spring.

Here’s a closer look at each teacher:

Anne Brasie

Brasie has taught in the district for 25 years and more than two decades at Circle View. This year, however, she is teaching third-grade Gifted and Talented Education in the district’s new Virtual Academy.

Brasie has received numerous grants benefitting her school for engineering projects and experiments, STEM materials, athletic equipment and uniforms. Additionally, during the coronavirus pandemic, she coordinated a districtwide letter-writing campaign to essential workers.

She said about 600 letters written by students in kindergarten through eighth grade were delivered in the first round, and about 350 more are waiting to go out.

“They’ll be going out in the next week or so to more of the hospitals, more of the fire and police departments, more of the grocery stores,” Brasie said. “The community has been so excited and appreciative. I take pictures and then put together a little slideshow so that the teachers can show the students how happy and appreciative the community is.”

Brasie said she was speechless when she found out about the Teacher of the Year honor, adding that she’s lucky to have such talented coworkers in the Virtual Academy and districtwide.

Noel Clancy

Clancy has been teaching for 17 years at Vista View Middle School and currently teaches math and science, along with a combination leadership and yearbook class, though she’s also taught history, English, P.E. and engineering during her tenure.

Clancy is known as something of a technology whiz on campus by her peers.

“I’m not your technology whiz like I can tell you gigabytes or something like that, but I usually can figure out a lot of technology issues that teachers have,” she said. “I think the biggest thing is just trying it out. I’m not afraid to try something out, and it’s OK if it doesn’t go well the first time.”

Clancy said being tech-savvy has helped her adapt during the coronavirus pandemic, with many of the students online instead of in the classroom. She added that she is grateful for the support of the other teachers as she has tried to take on technology ranging from Chromebooks to 3D printers.

“I think my biggest gift as a teacher is the enthusiasm and the relationships I have with the kids,” Clancy said. “It goes a long way, especially in a year like this. With COVID, you have to rely on them to do so much on their own. They want to please you and do the work, and I feel like it’s the relationships you build with them that get them to do that.”

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