Neely, Dibble receive YHS district awards

by Earlene Ward - Yosemite High School District

Submitted Photo

Yosemite Joint Union High School District chose Glen Dibble as its Employee of the Year and Brenna Neely as its Teacher of the Year.

 

Brenna Neely, who teaches at Ahwahnee High School, and Glen Dibble, utility worker, were named the Teacher of the Year and Employee of the Year re­spectively for the Yosemite Joint Union High School Dis­trict.

They were honored June 4 at the district's Retirement Awards Dinner.

Employees in the district nominated people for the two awards.

Mrs. Neely, who teaches in a continuation school in the district, was praised in her nomination letter for providing an atmosphere in which the students can learn, mature and graduate.

This year, 10 students will graduate from AHS, the most ever from a continuation school in the district.

“This is a direct result of the outstanding efforts of Brenna Neely,” the letter states. “Her straight-forward approach and firm, but caring, manner gives her students an environment where they succeed and their self esteem blossoms. They realize they have skills that will enable them to be successful, contributing members of our community.”

Mrs. Neely’s students volunteered to help refurbish Putney Ranch Camp near North Fork that is now operated by the Madera County Sheriff's De­part­ment. The students helped restore the kitchen facilities, the camp playground and a camper cabin.

 

Vocational workshops

Mrs. Neely and her two classroom aides, Carolyn Campbell and Lawnna Porter, have taken the students to a vo­cational workshop where they were made aware of many vocational training opportunities.

Several subjects may be combined at AHS as students study such events as the Iditarod sled dog race in Alaska.

As they follow their individual mushers, they study geography, culture, vocabulary, needs of humans and animals, and the advantages and disadvantages of each route.

Mrs. Neely introduces the students to opera, including a field trip to attend a performance in Fresno; she and Yosemite High School art teacher Rivka Schaffner worked together to film art lessons on video so Mrs. Neely and other alternative education teachers can use them in their classrooms.

The students read Shake­speare and act out the scenes; they use the technology equipment at the school for desktop publishing and videography.

Complex to simple

The person who nominated Mrs. Neely wrote that one of her strongest skills “is her ability to take complex and intimidating tasks and break them down into small understandable parts which makes them seem simple. Students find themselves succeeding where they had previously failed and enjoying subjects they used to fear.”

Mrs. Neely started working in the YJUHSD in 1991 as a substitute teacher at YHS. She later became an independent study teacher at Foothill High School and then Evergreen High School. She has been at AHS for four years.­

She is quick to give credit to all of those who support her as a teacher, including the staff at Evergreen High School and her aides at AHS. She also credits Alternative Education Principal Curt Campbell for her success.

Critical to everything she does, however, are the students, she says. “You can’t teach students who are not willing to learn,” she believes. “You can't do anything without their cooperation.”

 Mrs. Neely graduated from Madera High School as class valedictorian. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in applied mathematics and a teaching credential in mathematics from California State University, Fresno.

She now has the opportunity to submit an application for Madera County Teacher of the Year.

 

On to retirement

Mr. Dibble was honored both as the Employee of the Year and as a retiree. After working at Yosemite High School for 21 years, he will retire the end of June.

He was complimented for always being cheerful and eager to help the other staff members with anything they needed. As a utility worker and maintenance person, Mr. Dibble helps keep the campus running smoothly.

“He has a wealth of knowledge that comes from his many years on this campus,” the letter of nomination read. “He's always professional and gets along well with students and staff alike.”

The person who nominated Mr. Dibble noted that he is a pilot and that he took his first parachute jump on his 60th birthday.

Mr. Dibble said he enjoyed his years at YHS and he was happy to help the teachers. “We're here for the kids,” he said. “I’m here to please the teachers and they're here for the kids.”