By Khalida Sarwari
The Saratoga Union School District’s 2013 Teacher of the Year is a familiar face at Argonaut Elementary School. Megan Queen may not live in Saratoga, but she leaves her heart in her classroom every day.
The 44-year-old, who lives in Mountain View, just marked her 10th year at Argonaut.
“I love working with kids,” said Quee, who introduced the transitional kindergarten program to the city. “They’re young and need a lot of nurturing and patience. I love seeing kids that are older come back and say hello. It’s very rewarding.”
Prior to her current job as the only transitional kindergarten instructor in the city, Queen taught kindergarten and first grade at Argonaut. Before that, she was the state pre-school director for the Mountain View-Whisman School District. Much of the curriculum she developed for the transitional kindergarten, or TK program, was derived from that experience, Queen said. She just wrapped up her first year of teaching TK.
Last month, the district awarded Queen the Teacher of the Year award for her role in developing and implementing the program. Queen said she was shocked to find out she had won the award.
“I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “I got a call and I had no idea that the call was all about that.”
Superintendent Lane Weiss called Queen a “champion of students, a model educator and a caring professional.”
“Megan’s ability to build positive rapport and comfort for our new transitional kindergarten parents or parents inquiring about the program is astounding,” Weiss said. “Strong communication, caring listening and a calm professional approach to responding to curiosity, apprehension and input make her a wonderful ambassador and advocate for early childhood learning.”
Transitional kindergarten isn’t very different from preschool, but it caters especially to the students with fall birthdays that are not eligible for kindergarten. The benefit of the program, Queen said, is that it provides students with extra time to play and develop relationships, both socially and emotionally.
“Some kids need that extra time and we’re able to give it to them; it’s quite a gift,” Queen said. “This program doesn’t have the same pressures that they have in kindergarten.”
Queen said she’d like to continue running TK and turning it into a “really awesome” program. This year’s class had about 14 kids, but Queen said she wants to see enrollment grow.
“Each year I’ll just keep trying to make it better and better,” she said. “I hope the state will keep having TK.”
Queen will be honored along with other Santa Clara County “Teachers of the Year” at the 44th annual Teacher Recognition Celebration on Sept. 26.
