Parent Teacher Magazine Gaston County Public Schools 2015 | Page 6

Ashbrook High School teacher earns award for inspiring students

Bianca Yavelak isn’t
satisfied if her students
just know how to give
the right answers. She
wants to make sure they
learn how to ask the right
questions.
As a science teacher
at Ashbrook High School,
Yavelak encourages
students to think for
themselves, and her ability
to inspire a love of learning
earned her recognition
as one of six Charlotte
area teachers chosen to
receive the Arts & Science
Council’s (ASC) Cato
Excellence in Teaching
Award. The annual award
recognizes teachers whose
creative teaching methods
motivate students to
succeed in the classroom
and in life.
Yavelak, who is in her tenth year of teaching at Ashbrook,
received the award in October at a ceremony in Charlotte. Ashbrook
principal Joey Clinton said the honor is well-deserved.
“Mrs. Yavelak is an enthusiastic and engaging teacher,” he said.
“She has a great gift in making her science lessons come alive. Her
ability to develop positive relationships with students that fosters
individual growth is outstanding.”
Yavelak, who has a degree in microbiology from Virginia Tech,
came to teaching from a job in a research laboratory. That experience
influenced her teaching style as she focuses on problem-solving and
real-world application. She said she encourages her classes to think
like scientists rather than students -- to understand a problem, not
just get the answer.
“I want them to learn to think for themselves and to care about
what’s happening in the world,” she said. “I’m trying to teach them to
be informed citizens, not just students.”
To that end, Yavelak has students read scientific journals, not just
textbooks, and incorporates current events, like the Ebola outbreak

in west Africa, into her
lessons. She also requires
participation in the Gaston
Regional Science and
Engineering Fair, where her
students have been very
successful. So far, seven
have moved up through
state and national science
fairs to compete on the
international level.
Yavelak’s influence on
her students is evident
in classrooms around the
county. Eight of the new
teachers joining Gaston
County Schools for the
2014-2015 school year are
former students.
“She had a huge impact
on my love for science,”
said Jennifer Del Castillo,
a first-year teacher at
Belmont Middle School.
Del Castillo, who is
teaching seventh-grade math and science, took Yavelak’s classes in
her junior and senior year at Ashbrook, graduating in 2009.
“She was very engaging as a teacher. We never just sat there and
had her lecture to us,” said Del Castillo.
Brinkley Rhodes, a new teacher at Southwest Middle School, also
counts Yavelak as an important influence.
“She definitely helped students develop a real love for science; it
wasn’t just another class,” she said.
Both Rhodes and Del Castillo said they hope they can engage
their classes the way Yavelak inspired them and pass on a love for
learning to another generation of students.
“Because of Ms. Yavelak, I know you can have a fun class and
help the students actually want to learn instead of feeling they have
to learn,” Rhodes said.
Del Castillo agreed: “I try to model in my classroom what she did
because I loved her class so much.”

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4 • Jan/Feb 2015 • Parent Teacher Magazine