“Readers are leaders,” says Centennial Middle School teacher John Bergeland, who discovered his passion for reading in the fifth grade.

John was recently named Centennial Teacher of the Year for 2011–12. “This is a tremendous honor,” he said. “The teachers in this district are some of the best in the nation and I am fortunate to represent this fabulous group of educators.” John teaches eighth grade language arts and serves as a professional learning community leader.
He is also head wrestling coach at the high school. “Middle school students are fascinating and confounding young people,” John says. “They daily prove their resilience, curiosity and uniqueness. They simultaneously display a need for freedom, responsibility, and structure.”

John credits his fifth grade teacher and challenging adolescent years with impacting his decision to go into teaching. Mrs. Heyer set high expectations for her fifth graders and John was challenged to meet them. Among her accomplishments was helping turn John into an avid reader. His adolescent struggles had to do with being among the shorter boys in 10th grade. “It’s these types of influences that drive me to develop life-long learners, voracious readers, and leaders in our local and global communities,” John explained. John believes “learners of all ages need voice, choice and space, and they must be sufficiently challenged by motivating and engaging reasons to keep growing intellectually.” A key ingredient is the “transfer of ownership from teachers and parents into students’ hands.” He sees this as the greatest transformation adding, “We need students to be active participants in their own lives.” Among his best accomplishments John lists earning his K–12 reading license. “It was rigorous and challenged my classroom practices,” he said. “It has led to numerous opportunities to collaborate with content area teachers across the Midwest. In all cases we strive to positively impact student literacy in all of the disciplines.”

John is also proud of the students in Team 801 who were each challenged to read 18 novels last school year. “Their grand total was 2,844, which is an average of nearly 21 novels per student,” he said. John is adept at making accommodations to ensure student learning. “I consider the composition of each group of students and the objectives of each unit,” he explains. “Then I determine the level of support required to help them access text, work with the concepts involved, and make it meaningful.” He stresses clear communication in the classroom, setting academic goals and celebrating progress.

A 19-year veteran of the teaching profession, John has been part of the high school wrestling program since his arrival at Centennial 12 years ago. Eight years ago he was named head wrestling coach. “This position has profoundly influenced me as a leader, coach, teacher and father,” said John. “The boys who have participated have achieved some extraordinary results in the classroom and on the mat during this time as well.” He points to a string of seven team grade point average awards of 3.0 or greater, a conference championship and five section titles.

John sees literacy as an enormous issue facing students today. “Specifically the capacity to read and write, to master new content in a given discipline,” he says. This presents a challenge to educators in meeting the needs of these learners, who are expected to be functionally literate.

Teacher of the Year

Other nominees for Teacher of the Year were Marianne Erlien from Early Childhood; Greg McCready and Mark Magnuson from Centennial Elementary; Colleen Miller and John Peterson from Golden Lake; Colleen Salay from Rice Lake, and Jodi Phillips from the middle school.

Click for a list of previous Centennial Teachers of the year
(We are missing a few, let us know
if you can fill in the blank years.)