Pssst ... IUSD, ITA and the Exchange Club to surprise this year's Teachers of the Year

You didn’t hear it from us, but sometime Thursday morning there may or may not be some surprise announcements.

Irvine’s three teachers of the year, representing the district's elementary, middle and high schools, are scheduled to be revealed during unannounced visits to their respective campuses. Again, this is all hush-hush. Top secret. Classified. The good news may or may not travel by way of a caravan of school board members, district staff, Irvine Teachers Association leaders and representatives from the Exchange Club of Irvine, which sponsors the yearly award program. And there may be additional recognition for promising first- and second-year teachers. As with previous years, IUSD NewsFlash plans to tag along to post the winners as they’re announced, so be sure to check with us throughout the day. Also, we should point out that we’ll be sending our dispatches from our trusty iPhone, so forgive any typos. Now in its 26th year, the Teacher of the Year program annually recognizes star instructors at the elementary, middle and high school levels. Nominations are submitted by district employees, and candidates are later interviewed by committees made up of teachers, principals, administrators and Exchange Club members. The committees ultimately narrow the field to the final three using the following criteria: Evidence of a wide range of instructional strategies used effectively; commitment to the teaching profession; and demonstration of Irvine teachers’ values of integrity, empowerment, learning, collaboration and trust. So which trio will be honored as the Irvine Unified School District’s Teachers of the Year in 2012? We’ll find out very soon. Or not. We’ve already said too much.