Local teachers choose dream team

Union will honor three from Newport-Mesa district as teachers of year at Thursday ceremony.Some people go through a series of dreams before settling on their careers. For Kerri Bordelon, it was an easy decision.

“I’ve wanted to be a teacher since I can remember,” said Bordelon, who has taught kindergarten for six years at California Elementary School. “My mom is a teacher. She taught for 35 years. From the time I can remember, I used to play school. It’s kind of been a dream come true just to be in the teaching profession.”

Last week, Bordelon’s dream ascended to a whole new level, as the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers selected her as one of its three teachers of the year.

Every year, the federation honors three instructors in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District with awards and stipends. Bordelon took the prize among elementary school teachers for 2005-06, with Rosemary Hines and Tricia Edlund winning in the intermediate and secondary categories, respectively.

A panel of administrators and former teachers of the year chose the winners. On Thursday, the federation will honor Bordelon, Hines and Edlund with a dinner and awards ceremony.

“They all had that little spark in their eye,” federation President Jim Rogers said of this year’s winners.

Edlund, who has taught English at Estancia for four years, also helps to administer the school’s Puente program, a University of California-sponsored service for English-learners planning to attend college.

“For me, it’s just helping kids to understand that they have potential,” Edlund said of her job. “It’s helping kids discover they can succeed and they have something to offer.”

Hines, who teaches language arts at Ensign Intermediate School, could not be reached for comment.

To be eligible to be teacher of the year, an instructor must be nominated by a colleague or other administrator and then fill out an application. A review committee observes the candidates in their classrooms and interviews each one.

Last year, Newport-Mesa’s intermediate teacher of the year -- Ted Williams, a physical-education instructor at Corona del Mar Middle School who works with special-needs students -- went on to be recognized as one of Orange County’s teachers of the year. Williams will be among the presenters at Thursday’s awards ceremony.

Nancy Heimen, from Davis Elementary School, and Neil Malkus, from Newport Harbor High School, were the other winners from last year.