When Joanna Hendrix was nominated to apply for the Santa Barbara County Teacher of the Year award, she had a hard time deciding whether she’d move forward with the process.
“I learned I do not enjoy the spotlight,” the teacher of deaf and hard of hearing students said with a laugh. “I really had reservations about pursuing the application process because I felt apprehensive about representing the deaf community or deaf culture as a hearing person.”
Deaf or hard of hearing students represent 1 percent of all students enrolled in California schools, and Hendrix decided that highlighting her students was more important than her own fear of the spotlight, she said.
After completing the application process, which included several essays and reflective pieces, in January, she was selected as a finalist and went through on-site observations and an interview conducted by a six-person panel—and won the Santa Barbara County 2023 teacher of the year award, she said.
“I think there are exceptional educators throughout the county, and to be recognized during this time it feels overwhelming. But I hope it’s an opportunity to highlight all subject matters and all professionals throughout the county,” she said.
During her application process, Hendrix said, she was able to reflect on her teaching style and philosophy when working with the students.
“I think I learned how to be really succinct and really narrowing down what my priorities are. … It was really easy to forget that during the pandemic; it really invigorated me and reminded me why I’m doing it and who I’m doing it for,” she said.
Her own priorities include making sure all students have accessible and equitable education, and giving students individualized attention and a strong language foundation, she said.
“Before we can begin content and subject matter, they need a foundation to communicate about that. When teaching kids, before reading or writing happens you need to be able to communicate those things receptively. For my deaf students, it’s what they see,” she said.
Hendrix’s path to becoming a teacher of deaf and hard of hearing students began when she enrolled into an American Sign Language Class (ASL) at CSU Fresno, she said.
“I went to Fresno as an undeclared major [and] I was not an academically successful student, but ASL was the one class I felt like I was thriving in. My ASL professor—who was deaf—asked if I’d considered deaf education,” Hendrix recalled.
She didn’t know what that was at first but thought it sounded interesting and ended up finishing with a bachelor’s degree in deaf education. She continued her education with a master’s degree along with an education specialist deaf and hard of hearing credential and a multiple K-8 credential, she said. After graduation, she landed a job in the Clovis Unified School District and then got her position with the Santa Barbara County Office of Education at Orcutt’s Ralph Dunlap Elementary School where she’s remained for 21 years.
“We have a great collaboration with all education teachers along with the principal. They are very familiar with the deaf students in their classrooms. [The school] provides interpreters and hearing-assisted technology,” she said.
Moving forward, she said she hopes to see communities working cohesively to advance education for their students.
“I’ll be using this year to highlight all of the teachers within the county, and I hope we can move on from polarizing stuff [to] focus on areas of improvement to identify what the losses were and what kind of mediation and support needs to begin; how we can take what we’ve learned and build on that,” she said.
Hendrix is now eligible to apply for the California state teacher of the year—and she said she plans to apply to continue shining light on the community she serves.
“I want to be really aware that I’m appropriately highlighting my students, and I’m an ally of them while recognizing that ASL is not my native language,” she said.
Highlight
• Dignity Health Central Coast hospitals—including French Hospital Medical Center and Marian Regional Medical Center—received A grades on the most recent rating report from the Leapfrog Group, which focuses on patient safety. The Leapfrog Group, one of the nation’s leading hospital ratings organizations, awards hospitals based on safety, quality of care, and value metrics. The Leapfrog Group gives an A to hospitals that achieve the best hospital safety performance score, using a set of 28 national measures. Additionally, French has received straight A grades since 2012, and these ratings are a testament to the hospital’s ongoing commitment to providing the highest level of care and compassion to its patients, according to
Dignity Health.
Reach Staff Writer Taylor O’Connor at [email protected].
