ZHS Class of 1996 Mr. Jeff Charbonneau

 2012-13 Washington State Teacher of the Year

2012-13 National Finalist (Top 4) Teacher of the Year

(Left to Right, Mr. Kevin McKay ZHS Superitendent, Mr. Mike Torres ZHS Principal, Mr. Jeff Charbonneau (ZHS-96),  Mrs. Sandi Adams ZSD School Board Chairperson

Jeff Charbonneau, a leader in science education at Zillah High School, has been selected as the Educational Service District 105 Regional Teacher of the Year for 2012-2013, Has just named the statewide Washington Teacher of the Year as announced by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction on Monday, September 17, during a ceremony at the Experience Music Project / Science Fiction Museum in Seattle.  You may send your messages of congratulations to charbonneau_j@zsd.wednet.edu   

Charbonneau is a 1996 Zillah High School graduate who returned to his former school in in 2001 to begin his career as a teacher of chemistry, physics, engineering, and architecture.  During the past 11 years, he has been a pioneer in expanding opportunities in STEM-focused learning (science, technology, engineering, and math) within his own school district, as well as in schools throughout the region and state. 

In recent years, the Zillah teacher has successfully initiated articulation agreements that have given him adjunct faculty status with several area institutions of higher learning, allowing his students to obtain college credits with their high school science classes.  Since the fall of 2010, Zillah’s students have been able to earn 10 credits in physics through an agreement with Central Washington University.  Since the fall of 2011, Zillah students have also been able to receive 3 college credits in engineering and 6 in architecture through Yakima Valley Community College.  And this fall, Charbonneau becomes the first high school instructor in the state to offer 5 credits in chemistry through Eastern Washington University.   

“At the same time I have made my classes more rigorous, I have also made them more accessible,” Charbonneau wrote in his application materials, noting that enrollment in his upper division science courses has increased by more than 20% during the past two years.  “Over 60 students in this coming year’s junior class – a class of just over 100 students – have signed up to take chemistry.  About 26 of the coming year’s seniors – a class of just over 80 students – will take physics.”

In his nomination letter for Charbonneau, Zillah High School principal Mike Torres wrote:  “Prior to [Jeff], we did not have technology courses at Zillah High School and students went off campus to receive instruction in this area.  Jeff brought life to the concept of how we could incorporate these classes using the Computer Assisted Design program, coordinate with our Career and Technology Education program, and create opportunities for students in the areas of engineering that will further enhance the chances of students continuing in the field of science after high school graduation.”

In his own nomination letter, Zillah High School guidance counselor John Griffin added:  “Jeff’s enthusiastic, innovative and technology-infused instruction has increased interest in science in our school and community.  More students are choosing science electives to fill their schedules.  The requests for science courses have again increased to a point where we are looking at the need to add teaching staff to meet the demand.”

In 2008, Charbonneau started a program called the Zillah Robot Challenge, a robotics competition that provides students with practical, hands-on applications of their math and science learning.  Through fundraising and parent volunteer efforts, Charbonneau has been able to acquire more than 80 Boe-Bot robot kits that are loaned to public, private, and alternative high schools and middle schools throughout the state at no cost.  Students in school teams have approximately 6 weeks to learn how to assemble and program their robots before the competitions.  In the past four years, more than 850 students and 65 teachers from 43 different schools have been able to expand their STEM offerings through the nine competitions that the program has hosted so far.

Charbonneau also helped create a student hiking, backpacking, and ecology program called the Leopard Pathfinders.  Since 2002, the group has taken students on trips to Yellowstone National Park, the Beartooth Mountains, and the Pacific Crest Trail from Chinook Pass to White Pass in excursions that may last from 1 day to 2 weeks.  Several students in the program have gone on to study wildlife, land management, biology, and ecology at the university level.

“I fight a stigma,” Charbonneau wrote in his application.  “Students hear the words ‘quantum mechanics’ and instantly think ‘too hard’ and ‘no way.’  It is my job to convince them that they are smart enough, that they can do anything.  I have created a culture at ZHS that any student can be successful in the upper division sciences.  I teach to try and inspire the confidence in others that they can do anything.”

Outside of his role as a science educator – which includes responsibilities as the school’s Science Club advisor – Charbonneau has helped guide Zillah’s students as assistant director of Zillah’s drama program.  As ASB advisor during 2007-2011, he helped the 400-member student body annually raise more than $1,200 to benefit Special Olympics and earn distinctions as “Largest Fundraising School” through the Yakima County Sheriff Department’s Polar Bear Challenge.  And as advisor for the school’s yearbook, he taught fiscal management that helped the publication turn a profit, and led the development of a website for which students scanned and posted the contents of every Zillah High School yearbook from 1919 through 2002.

Charbonneau has also assisted his fellow educators as an online instructor during 2004-2011 for courses benefitting more than 300 teachers who were pursuing a Continuing Teaching Certificate.  He has also offered online cohorts for National Board Certification as an adjunct for CWU, and currently serves as co-president of the Zillah Education Association.

Charbonneau was selected by his fellow colleagues as the Zillah School District’s Teacher of the Year in February of 2012 and as the Zillah High School Teacher of the Year in 2004-2005.  He was also honored as the Freemasons of Washington’s State Outstanding Educator of the Year in 2006.

“I have a strange habit of welcoming my students to class the same way every class period of every day,” Charbonneau wrote in his application materials.  “I say, ‘Welcome back to another day in paradise.’  Paradise cannot simply be found.  It must be built, maintained, and improved each and every day.  It requires sweat equity, triumphs in the face of adversity, and consistent positive attitudes.  It removes the words ‘can’t’, ‘too hard’, and ‘impossible.’  To be a great teacher, one must strive to create a paradise not only within their own classroom, but also in their school and greater community.”

OSPI NEWS RELEASE -- Jeffrey Charbonneau, a high school science teacher at Zillah High School in Zillah, 20 miles southeast of Yakima, was named Washington’s 2013 Teacher of the Year at an awards ceremony held this afternoon at the EMP Museum in Seattle.

State Superintendent Randy Dorn congratulated the nine Regional Teachers of the Year before announcing the State Teacher of the Year. The event was hosted by EMP and The Beresford Company.

Superintendent Dorn praised the group saying, “Jeff and the 2013 Regional Teachers of the Year represent the best our state has to offer. These teachers are mentors, coaches, community leaders and friends. We couldn’t be more proud to claim them as Washington state’s teachers, and we celebrate their life-changing work. The selection process is rigorous and these teachers rose to the top.”

Program sponsors PEMCO Insurance, SMART Technologies, and Saxton Bradley, Inc., each have donated cash awards, technology prizes and scholarships for classroom improvements for bothCharbonneau and the Regional Teachers of the Year. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and The Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession have provided professional development for all nine finalists.

About Jeffrey Charbonneau
Jeffrey Charbonneau, a National Board Certified Teacher, began teaching science at Zillah High School in 2001. He has been instrumental in creating a series of demanding STEM offerings in his small, rural high school. This year, students will be able to earn college credit in four of Jeff’s classes. To accomplish this, Jeff has become an adjunct faculty member at Yakima Valley Community College, Central Washington University, and Eastern Washington University.

Jeff is a whirlwind on a mission. He reminds himself that each day is the most important day of the year for his students, and he fills his plate with responsibilities — both in and out of the classroom — designed to engage all kinds of students. Like many great teachers, Jeff is an advisor to a host of clubs including drama and science. As the yearbook advisor, Jeff led his students in an historical preservation project to digitize all of Zillah’s yearbooks — from 1919 to 2002.

Jeff has also designed an exciting robotic challenge open to students from across the state, independent study opportunities, a hiking club that completes community service projects on their trips, and much more. The robot challenge alone has served over 850 students from 43 school districts over the past four years. These opportunities, combined with his innovative instruction, have dramatically increased the interest in science at Zillah. This year, over 60 percent of juniors are registered for chemistry and one-third of seniors will take physics.

Jeff embraces every opportunity to encourage and support colleagues. As an online instructor for both National Board candidates and ProCert, he has been able to mentor teachers across the state. Jeff refutes the notion that we are a nation of failing schools, by reminding educators and community members of the many improvements we have made. He points to our continued efforts to educate all children as evidence of our resiliency.

“I am fortunate to have Jeff as an instructor at Zillah High School,” Principal Mike Torres says. “But I am even more fortunate to have him as a teacher for my own children. Both my son and daughter have taken classes from Jeff and they have expressed that he is the type of teacher every student deserves to have. He is innovative, enthusiastic, challenging and motivating. He takes a personal interest in every student. As a parent, I see how Jeff has motivated my children, not only to learn the content, but also to become advocates for learning in general. It is what makes him a standout.”

Next steps
The 2013 State Teacher of the Year, Jeffrey Charbonneau, will be considered for national Teacher of the Year, which is awarded by the Council of Chief State School Officers. President Obama will announce the winner in a special ceremony at the White House in the spring.

As the 2013 Washington Teacher of the Year, Charbonneau will serve as an ambassador for the teaching profession in 2012‒13 while maintaining his duties at Zillah High School.

The award was selected by a two previous state teachers of the year and representatives from the following organizations:

• Washington Education Association
• Washington State Board of Education
• Washington State Parent Teacher Association
• Office of the Governor
• Professional Educator Standards Board
• Washington Technology Industry Association

OWEGO ONLINE PROJECT:  The www.ZHSOWEGO.org website has been updated to now include the 2001-2002 yearbook.

ZHSOwego.org was made possible by the work of the ZHS Owego staff members, their advisor Mr. Jeff Charbonneau, and financial support from the Zillah Alumni Association. The website serves as a historical record of Zillah High School and is freely accessible to the general public.

Currently, ZHSOwego.org has 6,041 scanned pages from 66 different books ranging from 1919 to 2002.  In May 2013, the 2003 book will be posted online.

Only books that are 10 years old or older are published online. While we understand the desire for newer books to be published online, we also need to be able to sell yearbooks each year. By only posting older books we help balance the ability to share historical information and maintain sales (and thereby the existence) of the Owego Yearbook.

Unfortunately, we are missing several books. If you own one of the books listed below and would be gracious enough to allow the Owego staff to borrow and scan your copy, we would greatly appreciate it (your book will be returned to you).

The following books are not in the ZHS inventory: 1921, 1923, 1925-1929, 1931-1936*, 1938
& 1940-1943

*It is believed that no books were produced from 1931-1936.

Zillah High School does have extra physical copies of some of the past yearbooks. If you are interested in purchasing a past yearbook, please email or call Mr. Charbonneau.

Thank you for your support of Zillah High School and of the Owego Yearbook.

Please send us your comments!

Jeff Charbonneau
Owego Advisor
Email: charbonneau_j@zsd.wednet.edu
School: 509-829-5565

Newsletter    (Each Week) Read  Our Weekly Newsletter @ Facebook Get reminders to read our newsletter @ Twitter