Started Britton TV, a morning news and entertainment show

Published in the June 25-July 8, 2014 issue of Morgan Hill Life

By Marty Cheek

Photo by Marty Cheek
Vincent Gutierrez teaches English and will begin his fifth year with the school district this August.

At a Morgan Hill Federation of Teachers get-together at Guglielmo Winery last month, Vincent Gutierrez was stuffing his mouth full chocolate cupcake when he received a big surprise as his name was called out. The Britton Middle School instructor had just received recognition from his peers as the union’s choice of Teacher of the Year for 2014.

“I thought, OK, they’re going to announce the winner. No way I’m going to win. I’m going to eat my cupcake,” he said. “So there I am, eating my cupcake, and all at once they announce me as Teacher of the Year. My mouth was full of cupcake and I’m going, Oh no, they’re going to want me to speak.”

Gutierrez has a passion for teaching the intricacy of the English language. Starting his fifth year with the MHUSD, he teaches English Language Development and Language Arts. He is also involved in a sports mentoring program developed by the Morgan Hill Youth Sports Alliance to bring middle school students to the Outdoors Sports Center and participate in sports with police officers and other volunteers.

“Vincent was a key component of the successful implementation of the program because he not only identified students who would benefit in participation in the sports program but he reached out to their parents to encourage their support of the program,” said Claudia Ross, a member of the MHUSD’s board. “He’s a teacher whose influence goes beyond the classroom.”

One quality Rossi has observed about Gutierrez is how he engages parents in education. He recognizes parents should be full partners in supporting academic achievement in their children, she said.

“Vincent builds relationships,” Rossi said. “He builds a support system for students who are struggling such as new immigrants,who might be falling behind. He builds relationships beyond the classroom.”

Superintendent Steve Betando said Gutierrez creates an environment of respect and support for student success.

“When I watch Vincent interact with individuals or a group of students, I see that he not only engages their interest but the teenagers honor and value his words and expectations,” Betando said. “The middle school years are challenging for awkward adolescents, and Vincent lets them know that he cares about their development by listening and showing his interest in them as individual people. At the same time he is the type of teacher who makes certain that students do have fun, achieve, and take pride in their own development.”

Gutierrez is especially known in the district for his exceptional work in teaching struggling students, Betando said. “His support provides a high rate English acquisition so that students are quickly becoming re-designated as English proficient,” he said.

In addition to his work as a classroom teacher, Gutierrez has worked to develop Britton TV, a program that lets the school’s students produce video content by becoming involved in camera work, reporting, script writing, and broadcasting.

“Britton TV was an idea I had to make our morning announcements more entertaining,” Gutierrez said. “I think it’s important to give students a creative outlet to showcase their talents. With the support of Britton’s staff and clubs, such as drama, leadership, and MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán), we’ve assembled great crews and cast members for the past two years.”

Thanks to the Live Oak Foundation, the school has been able to buy equipment the students need to make the program possible, he said. Students announce the school events of the day, update their fellow students on future events with commercials, provide weekly rankings for the sports in season, and announce the top five lists for movies and music.

“We also do a daily patriotic observance, such as a brief lesson on holidays, mini-biographies of important figures in U.S. history, and highlight important events in U.S. history,” he said. “Starting next school year, we’re planning on making a mini-studio that will allow us to have a virtual news set by utilizing chroma key (green screen) technology.”

Gutierrez’s passion for helping students overcome language barriers comes from personal experience. He grew up in a rough neighborhood in Los Angeles where gang violence was common.

“My schools felt like prisons, and I was put into classes that guided me toward a vocation instead of higher education,” he said. “Somehow, I knew that if I wanted to get away from my predicament, education was going to be the key. I gravitated toward teachers who were supportive and believed in us no matter our circumstance. When I made the decision to become a teacher, I remembered all of these teachers.”

Taking a personal interest in each child in his classroom is an important component of Gutierrez’s teaching style. When he asks students why they like his class, they tell him it’s because he is respectful, caring, funny, and makes them feel comfortable to be themselves.

“I want my students to have pride in who they are no matter the circumstance,” he said. “I believe that our experiences teach us some very important lessons that can’t be expressed in a textbook. Families teach us our customs, culture, and norms, which greatly influence our beliefs. As such, my teaching style asks students to bring their background into the classroom and use it to connect to our lessons.”

2014 Teacher of the Year recipients

• Angela Santiago, Barrett

• Jewel Knofler, El Toro

• Nancy Moore, San Martin Gwinn

• Sue Sholer, Jackson Academy of Math & Music

• Kelli Patterson, Los Paseos

• Rosemary Munoz, Nordstrom

• Jennifer Kingman, Paradise Valley

• Senida Burns, P.A. Walsh

• Vincent Gutierrez, Britton Middle School

• Katherine Berryhill, Martin Murphy Middle School

• Walt Henzl, Central High School

• Brett Paolucci, Live Oak High School

• Zann Yates, Ann Sobrato High School