Outstanding Teacher Finalist Needs Your Vote

It’s the year for the Whitakers, teacher Stephanie Whitaker proclaims while inside her classroom at .

Among her small family’s accomplishments this year: Her son just turned a year old. Her husband, Fred, who spent seven years working at , recently became an assistant principal at Countryside High School.

Oh, and she was selected from a pool of 8,000 teachers to become for Pinellas County’s Outstanding Educator of the Year award.

“Just to be one of the 20” semifinalists was an honor, Whitaker said.

Whitaker, 29, a Buffalo, NY native, is a fifth-grade ESOL teacher at Dunedin Elementary. She has been at the school for six years.

“Some people are made to play football; some people are made to play basketball; some people are good with money,” she said. “This is what I’m good at.”

Whitaker was told she was one of the six finalists during what was supposed to be a surprise visit Dec. 2.

Whitaker admits that she had a hunch.

The surprise visits were tightly scheduled, and principal Kathy Brickley wanted to be sure Whitaker’s class would be in the room. The only hitch: Whitaker’s students were scheduled for mandatory testing. Whitaker said she knew something was up when Brickley cleared her test schedule to assure they would all be in her Room 229 that morning.

“It still was really overwhelming,” Whitaker said.

The winner will be announced Feb. 27 at the Pinellas Education Foundation’s Evening of Excellence award ceremony at Ruth Eckerd Hall.

Whitaker said education and business leaders make the ultimate decision, but the public can vote for her to win “fan favorite.” Just visit her bio page on the Pinellas Education Foundation website. To vote, you must enter your email address. Voting is open through January. As of Dec. 12, Whitaker had 707 votes. Finalist Christina Vaughn of the Nina Harris ESE Center in Pinellas Park leads with 1,195 votes.