Courtney Womack and Jacqui Lewis were named Williams High School 2010 Teachers of the Year.

Special Education teacher Courtney Womack was named the Beginning Teacher of the Year. She teaches the occupational preparation class for special education students and a fundamental social studies class. The occupational preparation class prepares students for jobs and life after high school.

“One of my biggest goals with my class is exposure. I want my kids to become as socially adjusted as possible and at the same time expose the regular education students to my class as well,” Womack said.

“I feel like sometimes there is a negative attitude toward those with disabilities when really it all stems from ignorance. The more you know about special education the more you realize the students are just teen-agers too! It’s really neat when you sit back and watch attitudes and preconceived notions change when people work with our kids.”

Womack didn’t always know she wanted to be a teacher. “I went to college to be a dentist! I switched my major so many times that I had a choice of three minors before graduation. I chose to be a teacher in my last year because I thought it was something I could see myself doing long term,” she said.

Womack went to the University of North Texas and graduated in 2009. She completed her student teaching at Williams.

“At first, I just wanted to be placed in Plano in any secondary school,” she said. “I wasn't so sure about 14 to 16-year-olds but ended up loving the age. I am now glad that I am not at a senior high because I have a hard enough time looking older than the sophomores!”

It wasn’t until the middle of her student teaching that Womack decided to work in special education.

“I have a degree in health and did my student teaching in a health class. My mentor teacher was also the adapted PE teacher, and I ended up loving working with the kids in her PE class,” Womack said. 

“My mom was battling cancer at the time, and the PE class ended up being my escape from reality. When she passed away, they were the first group of people I visited. Their warm spirits helped me keep my head up in such a dark time.”

Her favorite part of teaching is the element of surprise.

“My favorite part of being a teacher is how every day is entirely different ... especially with my kids. You never know what they have in store for you!!” she said. “This first year is more work than I expected. I knew it would be hard because of my inexperience in special education, but I had no idea it would be this much work!”
 

Continuing her education is part of Womack’s future plans.

“My husband and I just found out we are pregnant, so we are getting ready for the new addition. I also want to get my master’s degree in special education starting next year. I am still deciding on which route through the education system I want to go, but I definitely want to work my way up so that I can make important decisions regarding special education (curriculum, policies, etc).”

In her spare time, Womack enjoys playing golf with her husband, who is a golf pro at Pecan Hollow.

“I also love to cook and spend most of my free time flipping through the millions of magazines I subscribe to (I am a little addicted!).”

Jacqui Lewis, Experienced Teacher of the Year

Jacqui Lewis was named Williams High School’s Experienced Teacher of the Year. She is the geometry team leader and teaches geometry and honors geometry. Lewis began teaching in 2002 and this is her third year at Williams High School. Prior to that, she taught algebra and geometry at Lakeview Centennial High School and Rowlett High School in Garland.

“I absolutely love teaching at Williams High School – we have the best leadership I could ever imagine,” Lewis said. “Sara Bonser (WHS principal) has very high expectations for her teachers, and every year she provides new and innovative tools and strategies to help us to improve. I love the passion, dedication and generosity of the faculty and the rich diversity of the student body.  It is a great place to teach. I was overwhelmed by this recognition because there are so many amazing teachers at Williams.”

Like Womack, teaching was not Lewis’ first career choice.

“My degrees are in computer science and computer engineering. I worked in both hardware and software design for over 15 years before deciding to enter the teaching profession,” she said. “I was profoundly inspired by my daughter’s second-grade teacher, Heather Stone Brzeznksi at Stinson Elementary. (Her husband, Joel  Brzeznski is the lead counselor at Murphy Middle School). I was amazed at her energy and the inspirational effect that she had on my daughter and other children. This is a woman who opened and closed the school every day (6:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.) in an endless pursuit of ways to entertain, excite and engage her students in learning. She gave them self-confidence and a love for learning. I came home after volunteering one day and told my husband, ‘I want to do that!  I want to change lives the way that Heather does!  I want to be a teacher.’  It has been quite a journey making such a drastic career change at my age. I turned 50 last year!”

Lewis said she always loved math, especially geometry.

“I especially love geometry because it is a tangible application of algebra,” she said. “Visual learners often find that algebra begins to ‘make sense’ when applied to a geometric problem.  I also love the energy that teenagers bring to the classroom. They are so entertaining. I knew that high school was the right fit for me.”

Seeing a child succeed is her favorite part of teaching.

“Nothing compares to the feeling you get when a child who has struggled in the past thanks you for helping them to find academic success,” she said. “I have never worked on an engineering project (no matter how successful) that gave me a feeling of accomplishment that could match this. Before joining the teaching profession, I had never seen so many people work for so many hours with so much joy and passion for so few financial carrots. It is impossible to express in words what I have learned about the heart of a teacher during the past few years. I am tremendously honored and grateful to have been recognized by such an extraordinary and sincere group of people.”

Lewis is a member of the Association of Texas Professional Educators. Plano ISD is sending her to present “Talent Balanced Teams and the 50 Minute Sprint” at the conference for the Advancement of Mathematics Teaching in San Antonio in July. This is a program Lewis has been developing over the past few years in Plano.  

Sure that she will teach high school math until she retires, Lewis earned her 1984 bachelor’s in computer science and 1990 master’s in computer engineering (with a concentration in VLSI Design Automation) at North Carolina State University.  She earned her Secondary Math Certification through the Alternative Teacher Certification Program at Brookhaven College in 2002.  

A longtime Saints fan, Lewis enjoys spending time with her husband Rick and daughters Lindsey and Amy.  They are members of the Heights Baptist Church in Richardson where Lewis and her husband teach in the Children’s Ministry on Sundays.  

Plano ISD’s Teacher of the Year nominees will be honored at the school district's annual Teacher of the Year Gala on May 13. Nearly 1,400 educators, PTA leaders, school and city dignitaries and corporate sponsors attend to celebrate teaching excellence.

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