Schools / Education news

Three educators received high honors this month when they were named Teachers of the Year at the 11th annual Excellence in Teaching Awards Dinner. The event is sponsored by Irvine Unified School District, Irvine Teachers Assn., Irvine Co. and Exchange Club of Irvine.

Those honored:

Maureen Murphy Allen

Elementary School Teacher of the Year

Age: 54

Residence: Laguna Hills

Education: Bachelor’s degree, Cal State Long Beach; completing a master’s degree in science and math from Fresno Pacific University

Background: Allen teaches science at Brywood School. An 18-year veteran of Irvine Unified, she is being honored as Teacher of the Year for the second time.

“It was a big surprise,” Allen said. “Once was a big surprise, let alone twice.”

Allen’s most recent contribution is the creation of Science Little League, an after-school program for students in kindergarten through sixth grade.

Mark S. Sontag

Middle School Teacher of the Year

Age: 41

Residence: Rancho Santa Margarita

Education: Bachelor’s degree from UC Irvine; completing a master’s degree in education at Azusa Pacific University

Background: Sontag, who joined the district in 1978, teaches science at Sierra Vista Middle School.

When the campus couldn’t afford to hire a contractor last fall to install fiber-optic cable to hook up classrooms to the Internet, Sontag and other staff members did it themselves.

“The Internet has opened a whole new world of information for these kids--information that is better and more current than encyclopedias,” he said.

Peter P. Fournier

High School Teacher of the Year

Age: 54

Residence: Fountain Valley

Education: Bachelor’s degree from University of the Pacific; master’s degree in trombone performance and conducting from University of Southern California

Background: Fournier has taught instrumental music for the ninth through 12th grades at University High School for 14 years.

He has fought diligently to save music programs from budget cuts. “Music teaches children the value of their expressive quality,” he said. “It helps them develop strong self-esteem, self-worth and self-discipline that are applicable to other disciplines.”

Fournier founded the Irvine Youth Symphony in 1992 and led University High’s marching band last fall to the national championships, where it placed second in its division.