Sunny Chancy is Wakulla High School's 2007 Teacher of the Year 

Sunny Chancy, 2007 Teacher of the Year for Wakulla High School, says she loves what she does simply because of the kids she teaches.  “It wasn’t the topic I was teaching and it wasn’t the school I was teaching in,” says Chancy.  “It was simply the children.”

Born in Newcastle, Wyoming, Chancy went to college in Chadron, Nebraska where she received her undergraduate degree in Biology and her master’s degree in Mathematics/Science with an emphasis on Biology.  “My husband was from here, so that’s what brought me to Florida,” says Chancy.  “In 2000 I began teaching at Tallahassee Community College (TCC) at night, and at Jefferson High School in Monticello during the day.  The high school experience sealed the deal; it’s what made me love teaching.  I realized that some of those kids don’t have the stability they need at home, and some of them don’t have the things that many of us take for granted.  Sometimes a teacher is the only stable thing in their lives.  I realized that I could be something more for them, not just educate them, but be a positive role model for them and show them that they can accomplish things and be successful.”

During that same year, Chancy met a man named John Burke who was teaching at TCC and Wakulla High School.  He encouraged her to apply for a job at WHS, and she ended up beginning her second year of teaching high school at Wakulla and has been there ever since.  She started out teaching Environmental Science, which was a new program at WHS.  From there she began teaching AP and regular Biology courses as well.  Chancy teaches students in grades 10 through 12, and her first class of the day is AP Biology.  “School doesn’t officially begin until after 7:30,” says Chancy, “but many of these kids will come in at 6:50 ready to go.  That’s how excited they are to learn.”

Chancy says one of the things she likes most about her job is the fact that there is no monotony.  “It’s different every day,” says Chancy  “The State of Florida is really pushing us to do more individualized teaching based on each student’s reading level.  We have to look at the level data from their FCAT scores to help us determine how to teach each student.  We incorporate a lot of vocabulary into our lessons and put more focus on reading the textbook.  The science grades on the FCAT will affect the school grade this year, but will not yet affect whether or not the students graduate.  It has definitely changed the way we teach our classes.”  Chancy says she also tries to incorporate a lot of labs and field trips into her curriculum.  “Some of the kids are initially resistant to learning,” says Chancy.  “These types of activities can really help in getting the kids excited about science.”

In addition to her teaching duties, Chancy serves on the School Advisory Council (SAC), and started an after school peer tutoring program with art teacher Cassie Tucker.  “We hold tutoring sessions once a week on Wednesday afternoons and have anywhere from 45 to 55 students participate each session,” says Chancy.  (Click here to read more about the tutoring program.)  Chancy was also the Environmental Club sponsor for two years, and was Teacher of the Month for WHS in February of 2005.  She has also served as a chaperone with the California Trip which is sponsored by science teacher Bob Blanton each year.  “That was a great experience,” says Chancy.  “It was the first time many of the kids had ever been anywhere outside of the area.”

Chancy and her husband have a 2 ½ year old daughter.  “When you are at school you are focused on being a teacher, and then you go home and you are a mother,” says Chancy.  “Having a supportive husband helps me juggle it all.”

Success to Chancy is when she feels she has gotten to every one of her students.  “I try to make contact with each kid every day.  If I have 30 kids sitting in my class, I will make sure I have spoken individually to each one before the period is over.  It’s important to reach each one of them.  I try to push them, because many of them don’t realize what they can do until they have been pushed.  A lot of them want so badly to do well, and it’s my job to make them realize that they can.  I try to be positive and happy, and to give them the encouragement they need.  I just love the kids and their smiles and their personalities.  For me it’s always been the kids and it probably always will be.”

This article originally published on January 8, 2007.

Written by :

mkwestmark

 

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