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Teacher of the Year Diane Timko helps Amerae Bergado, 8, with math.

Sunnyvale showcases a class act at banquet

Diane Timko recognized as SESD teacher of the year

By Katherine Petersen

There's one in every school, it seems.

You remember her--the teacher whose roll call you think you want to avoid. The teacher with the reputation for being tough.

At Lakewood Elementary, that teacher is Diane Timko.

Timko, who admits to being stern, kind of likes having the reputation of being the meanie.

"After the first day, they find out I'm not mean, but I ask them not to spoil my reputation," she said. "I do have high expectations of my students, and I'm not going to lower them."

Those expectations gained Timko recognition last week at Showcase Sunnyvale, the annual awards banquet put on by the Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce. The third-grade teacher, who has taught 29 years in the Sunnyvale Elementary School District, was recognized by the chamber Oct. 3 as SESD's teacher of the year.

Parents, principals and teachers rave about Timko's abilities in the classroom. Dianne Moctezuma, who has had two of her children in Timko's classes, said the teacher's excitement about learning is contagious and inspirational to her students.

"I think she's a once-in-a-lifetime teacher for many kids and will have a great impact on their lives," Moctezuma said. "She has helped my kids to love learning. She doesn't stick with the same things over and over again."

Timko, who has taught for 31 years, shows no signs of slowing down yet.

She got the idea of becoming a teacher when, as a seventh-grader, she assisted a first-grade teacher in the classroom. "I really enjoyed working with kids," she said. "My mother helped channel me, too. She would put articles on teaching and education on my bulletin board."

Timko, in her sixth year at Lakewood, spent a few years working at the district office as a language arts specialist until that position was axed in a budget cut.

Timko's room is always open, and teachers come in to ask questions or just to chat. Her lesson plans have found their way into classrooms throughout the district, as she is willing to share any materials she has.

"Why should other teachers reinvent the wheel if I already have written up lesson plans?"

Timko is the tone- and climate-setter at Lakewood, Principal Shelly James said. Timko has made an impact as a staff developer in the district, and the teachers, at Lakewood in particular, rally around her.

"She is held in very high regard by teachers and parents alike," James said. "During Back to School Night, I went to her room when everyone was supposed to have gone home and found her chatting with parents who didn't even have current students in her class."

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, October 8, 1997.
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