My most heartfelt thank you to the California Teachers Association

and the Association of California School Administrators Region 10 for the awards they gave me. There are times when the news do not make teachers, administrators, or the schools look good, but they manage to keep an open mind and let me go into their classrooms and into their lives. They perform noble work, these days under challenging circumstances, and I'm very lucky for the doors they open to me, the Herald and our readers.

Special thanks go to Ann Kilty of MPUSD, who I strongly suspect nominated me for the administrators award; Jill Low and Dennis Wright, past president and president of the Monterey Bay Teachers Association, for definitely nominating me for the John Swett award. Also, to my fabulous editors and cheerleaders at The Herald: Dave Kellogg, Joe Livernois, Royal Calkins, Don Murphy, and all my fellow reporters. They give me the space to explore, support my ideas, and challenge me to dig deeper. I'm lucky to be a part of such a great team.