ROCK SPRINGS — Stagecoach Elementary School music teacher Weston Lamb-Costantino has been working hard to improve himself as a teacher and those efforts didn’t go unnoticed when he was named one of two Whole Brain Teachers of the Year.

According to the website, www.wholebrainteaching.com, “Whole Brain Teachers of America is a grass roots, education reform movement begun in 1999 by three Southern California teachers: Chris Biffle, Jay Vanderfin, and Chris Rekstad. Since then, we have been joined by a dedicated group of K-12 educators who form our Executive Board.”

The goal of WBT is to help teachers navigate the common difficulties in the classroom, such as students lack of discipline, background knowledge and problem solving skills, while creating a peaceful classroom full of “orderly fun.”

Lamb-Costantino was surprised when he found out he received the award because there isn’t a nomination or application process for the award. WBT Coach Chris Biffle and the Executive Board determine who should receive the award based on the teacher’s growth and commitment to the program.

“I was completely shocked and honestly I still am shocked to be recognized for this award. This year I was recognized along side another incredible WBT teacher, Suzi St. Laurent, who teaches second grade in New Hampshire and is a platinum certified WBT,” Lamb-Costantino said. “To be recognized with her is a tremendous honor because I see her videos of her teaching and see what she is doing in her classroom and she is outstanding.”

“This award shows that I am dedicated to doing the best for my students. Everything I have done to get to this point is because my students deserve the best and I am constantly trying to do better,” Lamb-Costantino said. “I could not be here today without the amazing support of my school, Stagecoach Elementary.”

Lamb-Costantino said he couldn’t have been as successful in the program as he has been without the support of Principal Jen Palacios, Principal Sean Grube and the staff at his school.

“I would have never even started my WBT journey had it not been for Jen believing in me and pushing me to be a better teacher. The love and support I receive at Stagecoach and from the district is phenomenal,” he said.

The WBT Experience

In order to advance in the WBT program, the teachers must complete certain benchmarks before moving on to the next certification level. Throughout their entire experience, the teachers are encouraged to share their success on social media.

“WBT teachers regularly post in Facebook groups to share their classroom success and the newest and best Whole Brain Teaching strategies,” Lamb-Costantino said.

During the program, WBT can receive “golden tickets” to attend the weekly WBT research and design meetings with Coach Biffle and Nancy Stoltenberg as well as other members of the Executive Board. Lamb-Costantino received the “golden ticket” last year when Stagecoach and Walnut elementary schools worked with Coach Biffle and Stoltenberg through Zoom.  

From there, he started his certification process and currently has a gold certification and will start working on his platinum certification soon. The bronze certification consisted of completing seven online tests surveying the seven levels of Whole Brain teaching: WBT Basics, Super Improver, Character Education, Classroom Rules, Scoreboard, Beloved Rascals, and PowerUps. The participant must answer 45 multiple choice questions out of 50 correctly within 5 minutes.

“This process was extremely fun and trying to improve my scores became addictive,” Lamb-Costantino said.

The silver certification requires the participant to complete four essays designed to expand their understanding of WBT. Each essay will require a perfect score of 10 points, based on a rubric.  

“These essays had me examine my current teaching practices and helped me improve by implementing more WBT strategies,” Lamb-Costantino said.

During the gold certification process, Lamb-Costantino felt the program really pushed him as an educator. He created many exemplary teaching videos demonstrating his lively skill with Class Yes, Mirror Words, Hands and Eyes, One Minute Lessons, Teach Okay, and the Scoreboard throughout the fall semester. These videos were screened and coached by Stoltenberg and ultimately Coach Biffle watches the videos to determine whether or not a person will receive their gold certification.

“This process helped me tremendously grow as an educator and it greatly impacted how WBT strategies worked in my classroom,” he said.

Lamb-Costantino was also added to the elite AlphaHawk Virtual Academy, which is a select group of teachers who work specifically with Coach Biffle to improve the current WBT strategies as well as try out new ones. He was also made co-captain of the WBT social media team, Team TnT, with Shila Heeter who is a WBT and Executive Board member teaching in Georgia.  

“I have not had a chance to celebrate yet, but I look forward to traveling to West Virginia this summer to work in person with my amazing WBT colleagues and Sweetwater County School District No. 1 will be bringing in Coach Chris Biffle in July to work with our staff,” Lamb-Costantino said.

“This award is only possible due to the amazing support of the district. I’m blessed to be at the best school in the world, Stagecoach, with an incredible principal, Jen, who has believed in me since day one. I share this award with my colleagues at Stagecoach because without them I would not be where I am today,” Lamb-Costantino said.