Fort Worth Magazine?s Top Teachers 2017 has listed a Kennedale Junior High Teacher, Tammy Bergere, as one of its top ten in the Fort Worth metroplex. {{more: Read more …}}“The annual shout-out to private and public school teachers, covers the gamut from kindergarten to high school, library to choir, English to history and math. Our list includes five private and five public school teachers, gleaned from readers? votes in online balloting every spring via our website, fwtx.com., writes Scott Nishimura.the top ten list …The ten teachers include Andrew Stewart (The Oakridge School), Angela Tuttle (Alice Carlson Applied Learning Center FTWISD, Brittany Wagoner (Ditto Elementary AISD), David Mabry (Noland High School), Emily Davis (All Saints Episcopal School), Jose Alvarez (Dolores Huerta Elementary School FTWISD), Kay Newton (Trinity Valley School), Kim Springsted (North Crowley), Kris Benton (Southwest Christian School Chisholm Trail) and Tammy Bergere (Kennedale Junior High KISD). Read the Fort Worth Magazine story here
Tammy Bergere as written by Scott Nishimura
Tammy Bergere always wanted to be a teacher. ?I would play teacher with my sisters,? says Bergere, who graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in curriculum and instruction. ?I would be the teacher and teach them things.?
As a military brat, she and her family moved around a lot. ?I got to see a lot of teachers and teaching styles,? she says. Her first job, in 1991, was at Fort Worth?s Paschal High School in a pilot program, where struggling students took algebra over two years and a summer school.She got married and left teaching for 13 years to stay home with two children. She?s now in her 12th year at Kennedale Junior High School and is math department chair.How does she keep her students engaged? ?I just try to be real with them. My kids will call me a weirdo. I can?t sing. But occasionally, I?ll sing things.? She tells students, ?We need to put as many tools as possible into your tool bag.? And classroom instruction includes a lot of movement. ?We?ll do three or four things in class each day,? she says. ?We?ll get up, move around and talk to partners about topics. This generation needs to be entertained.?She?s also mindful of stats that show ?to learn you have to be exposed to it 28 times in three weeks. And you have to have slept in between.? Bergere?s students are consistent high performers, Michael Cagle [her former principal who has moved to Kennedale High School this year] says. ?Every few years, she re-creates her teaching. She takes on best practices. She learns from those who are around her.?Congratulations to Mrs. Bergere!
