Newark Science Teacher Named Alameda County Teacher of the Year

Tom Collett has dedicated almost two decades to the , and his passion for teaching was highly recognized Thursday night.

Collett is one of two educators honored as Alameda County Teacher of the Year by the Alameda County Office of Education. The other was Pleasanton/Tri-Valley ROP Horizon Continuation High School’s Karen McMahon.

“This is such an honor,” said Collett, a science teacher at . “Everything I do is geared toward how I’m going to engage my students every day, how I’m going to get them psyched about learning. While teaching can be physically and mentally draining the joys of teaching make it worthwhile.”

has told Newark Patch that his interest in teaching stemmed from his passion for magic and unfolding it. He said his goal in his classroom is to get students thinking about why things happen.

“I’m a curious person by nature, and I’m skeptical. That part of science really interested me. It’s all about ‘prove it’,” he said.

This is Collett's 18th year teaching in the district and his second at the junior high. Prior to that, he taught at .

Superintendent Dave Marken released a statement Friday morning congratulating Collett and noting gratitude for his focus on putting students first and concentration on student learning.

"Tom is a great representative of a wonderful staff at Newark Junior High School and an extended member of an amazing group of professionals of Newark Unified School District," Marken said in the statement.

The Alameda County Teacher of the Year Ceremony was held in San Leandro, where attendees from administrators and fellow teachers alike had much praise for the nominees, many of whom have weathered the education cutback storm to emerge as standouts in their profession.

Both Collett and McMahon thanked their friends, family and students and as much as they said they appreciated the award, they were quick to point out the hard work of all of their co-workers as a big reason for their success.

In fact, a big topic was praise for all teachers amid the recent struggles with layoffs and budget slashing.

Alameda County Superintendent of Schools Sheila Jordan praised the winners but pointed out that every teacher in the county, along with their school administrators and staff, are equally important for a student’s success.

“It takes a village to keep our schools and classrooms running at their best,” said Jordan. “They are the real-life heroes of Alameda County.”

The theme of the night was “Celebrating Real Life Heroes.” Each nominee was given an award for their nomination and allowed a speech and thank yous. for a list of all of the nominees.

McMahon and Collett will now represent Alameda County in the California Teacher of the Year competition. The winners will be announced in November.