Not one to let acclaim go to her head, math teacher Robyn Cox says being named San Juan Unified School District Teacher of the Year has allowed her to do even better in the classroom.

A San Juan teacher of nine years, Cox has succeeded in the district level of the Teacher of the Year Competition and is in the running for the title of Sacramento County Teacher of the Year.

"When students enter my classroom, I inform them they’re there to learn how to solve problems; if they get a little math knowledge along the way, that’s a bonus," Cox said. "As a lifelong learner, I think teaching is most effective in an environment of mutuality, interaction, and consistent communication between people engaged in the learning process. I hope that my passion for learning is contagious."

MICHAEL MAHONEY/Mirada Staff Robyn Cox helps out at a Science Olympiad event last spring. She is being recognized for her many contributions in and out of the school.

Having been a math teacher at Rio for the past seven years, Cox has continually taken opportunities to improve the school.

"She’s very engaging, especially with kids who are having trouble," Vice Principal Friery said. "She’s very warm and does her best to make sure all kids are learning; that’s what makes her a great teacher."

Not only do administrators recognize her hard work, but students are also able to find an exceptional manner in her teaching.

"She works to get to know her students at a deeper level, and she’s not afraid to learn new things with her students," senior Ilisa Weinberg said.

From involvement as the school’s Mock Trial teacher coach to active participation in special education recycling program , Cox has involved herself in the lives and success of students beyond her own math classes.

Once involved in the San Juan District competition, she was required to respond to four essay prompts including "How do you reach all of your students?" and "What is the most pressing problem facing education today?"

"I enjoyed the process of writing these essays; it helped me think back through the process of getting into teaching in the first place (in 1968)."

Upon advancing to the Sacramento County competition along with Deb House, a San Juan District elementary school teacher, Cox faced an interview panel and wrote nine more essays.

"[They were] a little more work and a lot more thought," Cox said.

Not only did this competition recognize hard-working teachers, but Cox also found that it prompted a "re-focus on how we go got here in the first place."

Teachers currently await the news as to who will receive Sacramento County’s Teacher of The Year title. Two Sacramento teachers will receive this title and will subsequently advance to the state level of this competition. These teachers will be announced at a banquet on Wednesday, Sept. 2.

Beyond the competition, Cox has long-term aspirations to, "just to keep on having fun, encouraging all students and to approach each day with gratitude and humor."

Although every summer holds the best two and a half months of everyone’s year, it is undeniable that there’s always that point when things start to get boring.

It’s not that you’re sick of your friends, but you’ve become too lazy to plan anything, and you insist that you’ve bled Sacramento dry of all there is to do.

For junior Heaven Edwards, this was not the case.

On June 28, foreign exchange student Pablo Sanchez Gomez came into town to stay with Edwards.

He was going to stay for a month in order to experience a new culture and to improve his English.

The 16-year-old from Madrid, Spain hit it off immediately with her, and they eventually became very close friends.

Edwards knew that this summer would be one of a kind the minute her family decided to participate in the Barling School Exchange Program, an organization for high school students in other countries looking to improve their English.

"I was a little nervous because I didn’t want to get stuck with some kid I couldn’t understand," Edwards said. "But I was more excited than anything."

Fortunately, her fears were put to rest when she realized that besides the common mix-up between the words ‘soup’ and ‘soap,’ his English was pretty phenomenal.

Edwards refers to the month Pablo spent with her as "the summer of a lifetime," especially considering that during the time he stayed with her, it was impossible to have a boring day. Having him there pushed her to come up with fun and interesting things to do.

"With Pablo staying at my house, it made me think to do things that I would probably not have taken the time to plan otherwise," Edwards said.

She loved experiencing all of the fun activities that they did. These activities included white water rafting, mini-golfing, and bike riding.

"My favorite was probably either swing dancing because he picked it up so fast, or our day trip to San Francisco because that is always an amazing experience to share with someone who has never seen anything like it before," she said.

Not only did Edward’s Spanish improve, but she also learned more about worldwide political views.

Heaven, a devoted republican, was interested in discovering how "worshiped" President Barack Obama really was back in Spain and the surrounding countries.

"The three purchases of Obama T-shirts is definitely something I wouldn’t have done if Pablo wasn’t here," Edwards laughed. "Thankfully, we avoided any heated political debates."

Although a very emotional goodbye came on July 26, Edwards would not have changed the experience for the world.

She knows that not many people can say they made a new friend from Spain this summer. And she believes that they will undoubtedly keep in touch with for the rest of their lives.

"No one could replace Pablo, but I’m definitely looking into hosting again next year," Edwards said.

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