Countywide : De Anza Teacher Wins Top Honor

Linda E. Brug actually likes teaching kids who are going through puberty, have zits and think they’re a whole lot smarter than they really are.

“They’re funny,” said Brug, who teaches seventh and eighth grades at Ventura’s De Anza Middle School. “They make me laugh, and they are never the same day after day, so you never get bored.”

On Monday, Brug’s positive attitude toward teaching the pubescent set paid off. She was named Ventura County Teacher of the Year by James F. Cowan, the county’s schools chief.

“This is sort of awesome to me,” bubbled Brug at home Monday afternoon. “I’m not used to this.”

The 39-year-old teacher was selected from a field of six nominated for the annual award from several county school districts. A panel of educators representing school districts and the county superintendent of schools’ office agreed that she personifies the best of the teaching profession in Ventura County, Cowan said.

Her boss at De Anza, Principal David Myers, said he is proud to have her on staff. Brug holds high standards that she expects to be met not only by students, but parents and co-workers, Myers said.

“She has a tremendous commitment that all kids can learn and will learn,” Myers said. “She just won’t write anybody off.”

And when you become one of her students, it doesn’t end in the eighth grade, Myers said. She often uses personal time to check up on former students in high school to make sure they are progressing satisfactorily, Myers said.

Brug also helped the school get a program for advanced students off the ground and leads drama courses that stress high-level thinking, such as readings of “Macbeth,” Myers said.

With the award, Brug advances to the statewide Teacher of the Year contest. The winner of that competition will be announced in October, officials said.

Brug believes that middle-school kids have not changed much during her 16 years of teaching, the last eight of which has been spent on the Ventura Unified School District staff.

“I know it sounds funny in the ‘90s, but kids at that age are still innocent,” she said. “You can make a difference, and for me, that is paramount. When I can’t make a difference, then I’m out of here.”