UPPER LAKE >> It may not take a village to teach the roster of students at Upper Lake Unified School District, just the support of one dedicated instructor to pursue her craft with encouragement from her administration and fellow faculty members.
Three months after being named Dean of Students of Upper Lake Middle School, following a formidable tenure instructing art students in the high school, Anna Sabalone was named “Teacher of the Year” for the academic calendar of 2023-24.
“It’s s an honor, so I greatly appreciate how my team supported me over the years to make this possible,” Sabalone said. “I’m grateful for the faculty to be brave enough to challenge me to extend the goals I would give my students, which gave me the passion I have for the students here, who were able to embody that and take it with them when they graduated.”
In addition to Sabalone, Dr. Giovanni Annous, District Superintendent was presented an award, by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-4th), a Congressional Record Statement certificate, while Sabalone received a certificate recognizing her selection as 2023-24 Lake County “Teacher of the Year.”
Sabalone graduated from Upper Lake High School. She lived abroad for some time but then after earning her master’s degree began teaching high school art courses. “I’m an art teacher at heart, but I sat on the Standards and Framework Committee for the State of California when they updated standards in 2017,” she recalled. “I’ve always been a fan of being able to extend the arts programs. So, the state is now implementing a theater and a dance teaching credential that we lost in the 1970s.”
She praises the state for supporting education in Lake County and expanding the arts. While affected by COVID-19, Sabalone remembers it was not as drastic here as other parts of the country, since students had an option to attend school in-person during the pandemic.
“I believe overall, we’ve not seen obstacles over those issues,” she said. “In retrospect some students who chose remote learning (less than half) had regret choosing that option. They wished they hadn’t done that because they missed out on an opportunity to be with other students.”
Sabalone also won kudos from the Upper Lake Unified School District Board. Diane Plante, president of the board calls Sabalone wonderful, who extoled a student driven energy while serving students in a manner that provided guidance.
“She’s up for the challenge to serving students in whatever way that may look like,” said Plante. Added Joanne Brenton, vice president of the board, “Students respect her and she’s the perfect person to work with a middle school age group. And she just has a way of relating to them with what they receive and hear. She’s very flexible and it’s been a beautiful experience working with her.”
As for the impact of COVID on academic progress, Plante noted the pandemic affected everybody. “But we had in-person classes with an option to attend virtually by the next fall and that was a choice by the parents. But we minimized the learning gap as efficiently and productively as we could. Brenton admitted it had been challenging. “I would add, getting back to where we should be after COVID, we need the students to feel comfortable,” she said. “But having a cold is not having COVID. We must get attendance back to where it should be.”
Rep. Thompson noted his office was proud of both Superintendent Annous and Sabalone for their academic achievements and distributed a Congressional Record Statement plaque to honor both.
Annous noted what is gratifying about being superintendent are the community partnerships, including with Robinson Rancheria and the North Shore Youth Club, which supports hundreds of students annually. “The challenge is to find ways to address individual needs of every student in the district,” he said. “You have to be proactive and drive policy to facilitate a path forward. And what is amazing about Anna Sabalone is, she is definitely a bright educator, and we are grateful to have her on our team.
