[ CCEA Home | Newsletters Page ]
President's Letter --- Legislative Update --- Exemplary Programs --- Model School --- Fair View Peer

MEET KENT KRAEMER,
1998 TEACHER OF THE YEAR

A retired Naval Officer, Kent Kraemer came to education for his second career and hit the ground running! Mount Toro High School in Salinas is home to this outstanding educator. A social studies, math and business teacher, he is convinced that all students can and will learn, provided the teacher does his part to make the learning environment "user friendly." Kent's principal credits him with single-handedly turning the culture of the school into a more positive atmosphere where everyone is happy to help students become successful.

Following a highly successful career in the navy where he taught thousands of young military service members in a host of technical, social and leadership courses, as well as numerous officers and senior civil servants in a wide variety of courses, Kent looked around following his retirement. He spent some time looking at the possibilities that were open to him. He worked in the private business sector in marketing and economic development; he volunteered in several community service organizations sponsored by the United Way; and he found his niche while volunteering for a non-profit community service area that served the youth of the community. It was here that he saw the desperate need for working with young people and made the decision to do just that. He never considered working anywhere other than continuation high schools. As he substituted for about a year, he realized that there was no other choice, having spent many days at Mount Toro High School, where he was eventually offered a contract as a full-time teacher. He knew this was where he belonged and where he wanted to be. Kent has stated that he has never been happier and that he looks forward to coming to school each day and helping his students find a brighter future.

During his first full year at Mount Toro High School, he recognized the need to create new opportunities for students to be successful; opportunities which would motivate them into wanting to be involved in the learning process. Thus he developed the Mount Toro Community Service Program which was honored with the prestigious Golden Apple Award in 1997. This award is presented to the best high school program in the tri-county region (Monterey, Santa Cruz and Sen Benito), by ACSA. This program involves numerous students who donate many hours of their own time outside school with community organizations such as the United Way, the Monterey County Office of Education, the County Elections-Voter Registration Office, the Salinas Union High School District and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Kent believes this program has been a win-win situation for everyone. The students showed dramatic improvement in their social skills; embraced the concept of community service; experienced increased self-esteem and self-confidence; gained a real feeling of belonging to their community; developed pride in themselves and what they were doing; and clearly contributed to a positive image of the continuation high school. One individual in the community was even moved to donate computer software valued at $1,200 because of the students' volunteer efforts.

Kent states that he is "driven" when it comes to his teaching. "In my own small way, I truly believe I can make a difference with some of these young people." He has found that by showing genuine concern for his students as individuals that they are quite receptive to receiving academic assistance tailored to their needs. Thus, he has found that student learning is improving and getting better each day. One of his techniques is to turn problems into measurable student achievement. His sincerest desire is to help students take charge of their own learning by helping themselves: to be well-reasoned, positive and healthy life-long successes. He does this by giving his students opportunities to succeed, not opportunities to fail! One of his students stated, "Mr. Kraemer has . . . made me feel good about myself . . . He is a teacher you can trust and depend on. To me Mr. Kraemer is more than my teacher he is my friend."

Kent exemplifies all of the best in the dedication that continuation school teachers give to their job: He dresses up as Santa Claus at Christmas time; provides free tax advice and assistance not only for his students, but also for the staff at his school; is always available to his students, even during his prep periods; took 20 students on a 3 day camping trip to Hearst Castle and provided everything for the students for a nominal cost of $10 per student; has provided tax seminars, job and career opportunities seminars; has written letters to local judges on behalf of students who had gotten into trouble with the law; regularly visits juvenile hall; has testified in juvenile court on behalf of his students; provides tutoring outside of normal school hours; celebrates student success constantly; and calls parents to let them know when their students have been successful at school. This all in addition to the daily demands of classroom instruction.

Kent's principal credits him with reactivating the student council and bringing the Business Department into the 21st Century. He states that Kent is a powerful role model on campus who possesses boundless energy and enthusiasm, is innovative in his use of technology in the classroom, is highly motivated and caring, and has a wonderful sense of humor which is contagious. How lucky we are to have this outstanding individual as the 1998 Teacher of the Year. Congratulations Kent! Enjoy yourself as you visit schools around the state and share your enthusiasm and charisma for our very special young people.

[ CCEA Home | Newsletters Page ]
President's Letter --- Legislative Update --- Exemplary Programs --- Model School --- Fair View Peer

Copyright © 1998 by the California Continuation Education Association.
All trademarks or product names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.