1989 Renton High School Grad Garners Regional Teacher Of The Year Award

Tammy Alejandre, a board certified teacher from Eagleridge Elementary in Ferndale, has been awarded the 2012 NWESD Regional Teacher of the Year award.  Alejandre has been teaching for eighteen years and received strong recommendations from her colleagues, past parents and even a previous student.  “Being Mrs. Alejandre’s student, and volunteering in her class, has inspired me to become a teacher myself,” wrote past student Megan Crider in a letter to the selection committee.      

Alejandre feels as strongly about providing leadership and working collaboratively with her colleagues as she does about student learning.  She was integral in building a School Improvement Team at Eagleridege Elementary, including a lead role in developing SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely) goals for teaching and developing common planning time for grade levels.  “The greatest impact on student achievement over time has been a school-wide shift from teaching to student learning,” said Alejandre.  Staff members look to her for resources and support, and enjoy her infectiously positive attitude.

In the classroom, Alejandre takes a global approach.  “Just like a parent sneaking healthy vegetables into their kids’ favorite foods, I sprinkle reading, writing, and math skills into social studies and science in a way so they don’t even know they’re practicing!”  She also uses the scaffolding technique heavily to allow students to build on things they already know.  One parent attributed her daughter’s significant improvement in test scores, from 2’s (below standard) to high 3’s (meeting standard) and 4’s (exceeding the standard), to Alejandre’s “teaching techniques, ability to adjust and approach a challenge from a different angle, and willingness to work as a team with parents…”       

Alejandre is a leader in her profession, working tirelessly to improve the entire educational process: from mentoring new teachers to identifying solutions for the barriers in the current education system.  Eagleridge Principal K. John Fairbairn said it best, “Tammy makes the profession better by being a part of it.”   

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