Early works best for state Teacher of Year finalist

It’s all in the family for Kendra Yamamoto, a preschool teacher at Martin Luther King Elementary School.

Yamamoto has been leading this unique public preschool program, targeted toward Vancouver Public Schools’ low income or otherwise at-risk children and families, for about nine years. Hers is the only program of its kind in the school district.

“I don’t see this program just as one for kids but it’s the families as well,” Yamamoto said. “This is a big deal for them. A lot of trust has to be established.”

Yamamoto’s passion for families has not gone unnoticed. She was named Educational Service District 112 region Teacher of the Year, and is one of nine state finalists for the Washington State Teacher of the Year Award, administered by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Principal Janell Ephraim called Yamamoto an “amazing teacher and person,” and praised her ability to “reach all kids.”

“You see amazing progress regardless of where they started,” Ephraim said.

Yamamoto, laughing, said she was on vacation in Maui when she got the news.

“I was in a state of shock,” she said, adding that she was “humbled and honored” by the news.

Yamamoto will find out Monday if she’s received the top state award.

Yamamoto, 40, has wanted to be a teacher since she was 5. She used to keep notebooks outlining lesson plans, and by the time she was in high school, was impatient to start.

“Hurry up, let’s expedite the process,” she said, laughing.

She taught kindergarten, first, second and third grade in the Vancouver school district, but it wasn’t until she had her first child in 2008 that teaching early childhood education came on her radar.

While she was on maternity leave, the district asked her to develop a public preschool program in an effort to help students develop foundational skills — things like sitting still, raising their hands, counting, and identifying colors.

“As a teacher, I always knew early learning was important, but it didn’t resonate with me until I had my first child,” she said. “I wanted to learn everything about those first five years.”

From there, Yamamoto, inundated with early childhood education between her home and work lives, developed a program with the families in mind. She applied for and received a grant to develop an evening preschool program, providing classroom time and dinner for children and their families. She invites parents for an orientation in June to prepare them for the year ahead.

“We’re going to work together,” she said. “We sign a little agreement. This is us being their child’s teacher.”

Yamamoto also mentors kindergarten teachers in all of Vancouver Public Schools’ 21 elementary schools, is a member of the district’s Early Learning Task Force, and coordinates Jump Start, a program for incoming kindergarten students. According to the district website, the program served 1,055 students this year.

Through all of it, Yamamoto said she thinks of her students working together — as a family.

“I love the idea of taking a group of children and orchestrating the day so it’s very fun and engaging,” she said. “We’re operating together as a family.”