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Leading the charge
Michelle Ohanian is being lauded from nearly every corner of the community for her work as a teacher at Fairfax County's Mountain View Alternative School.In one year, the English for Speakers of Other Languages teacher has been awarded the FCPS 2008 Teacher of the Year as well as the Washington Post's Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award.
After completing her undergraduate degree, Ohanian said she debated between a master's in teaching or going to law school.
After a stint teaching English in Spain, Ohanian returned home and earned her master's in education at George Mason University, with a specialization in ESOL.
Before joining Fairfax County Public Schools in 2000, she taught Spanish in Baltimore City Public Schools and elementary ESOL in Alexandria City Public Schools.
In Fairfax, Ohanian found herself outside of the classroom, however, with a position in the central office. There, she worked with other ESOL teachers around the county on their curriculums.
“When I would work with other teachers I could see how exciting it was to build the lesson and instructions based on the student needs,” she said. “I thought that I could have a career planning curriculum, but I would have much more fun with students.”
When central office colleague Ellen McCarthy took a position as the Assistant Principal at Mountain View, she soon lured Ohanian when a position opened. Ohanian was hired as the Mountain View ESOL department chair in 2004.
“I knew she was a real guru or leader in instruction, which is what I was looking for and what the school needed,” McCarthy said.
In addition to that position, Ohanian is the chair of the Staff Development Committee, where she has mentored another ESOL teacher.
Ohanian said the development committee is more about creating a network for teachers than straightforward training.
“If I need to learn something, I can look to a teacher in the school,” she said.
Principal Jim Oliver said the school has benefited from Ohanian's attitude and changes to the curriculum when she identified a need to solidify students' reading levels. Oliver said Ohanian's success with her students is rooted in the respect she shows them.
“It's a special individual who can come in here and work their magic,” he said.
Ohanian's projects at the school include a family life education program for adult ESOL students, offered in four languages, and the ESOL Journeys project, which involved her students writing, revising, peer-editing and recording their personal stories onto a CD.
Ohanian's spare time is spent mostly with her two daughters, ages 8 and 5, and her husband at their home in Chantilly.
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