Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year
The Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club Foundation and Phi Delta Kappa named Shauna Carey, a visual arts teacher at Booker T. Washington Elementary School in Champaign, Ill., the Wal-Mart 2006 National Teacher of the Year. Ms. Carey’s school received a $25,000 grant in addition to a greenhouse to be used as an outdoor classroom. She was selected from a pool of state award winners listed below.
Alabama: Anita Dobbs, Hewitt-Trussville Middle School, Trussville.
Alaska: Ronnie Stanford, Barrow High School, Barrow.
Arizona: Barbara Dumont, Highland Arts Elementary School, Mesa.
Arkansas: Jeff Mosby, Ramsey Jr. High, Fort Smith.
California: Diane Fellner, Citrus Avenue Elementary School, Chico.
Colorado: Greg Anderson, Rampart High School, Colorado Springs.
Connecticut: Meghan Kulak, Ellen P. Hubbell, Bristol.
Delaware: Patricia Moore, Calvary Christian Academy, Dover.
Florida: Robert Smith, Gulf Breeze Middle School, Gulf Breeze.
Georgia: Keith Thomas, Woody Gap School, Suches.
Hawaii: Cynthia McAnish, Pahoa High School, Pahoa.
Idaho: Ana Vasquez-Schnepf, John Brown Elementary School, Rathdrum.
Illinois: Shauna Carey, Booker T. Washington Elementary School, Champaign.
Indiana: Beth Rutz, Guion Creek Middle School, Indianapolis.
Iowa: Galen Zumbach, Creston High School, Creston.
Kansas: Linda Irvin, Sunflower Elementary School, Paola.
Kentucky: Debbie Schmidt, Eastside Elementary, Cynthiana.
Louisiana: Kim Zabbia, Ponchatoula High School, Ponchatoula.
Maine: Duane “Rick” Hardy, Cascade Brook School, Farmington.
Maryland: Georgianna Layton, Matthew Henson Middle School, Indian Head.
Massachusetts: Mary Powers, Machon Elementary School, Swampscott.
Michigan: Diane Spence, Gardner Middle School, Lansing.
Minnesota: John Ward Jr., Brainerd High School South Campus, Brainerd.
Mississippi: Sissy Zelenka, Jackson Elementary School, Pascagoula.
Missouri: Fred Booker, Lucy Franklin School, Blue Springs.
Montana: Amy Laws, Thompson Falls Elementary, Thompson Falls.
Nebraska: Catie Limbach, Crawford High School, Crawford.
Nevada: Douglas Bowser, Ruthe Deskin Elementary School, Las Vegas.
New Hampshire: Philip Brown, Concord High School, Concord.
New Jersey: Susan Schipper, Charles Street School, Palmyra.
New Mexico: Ann Walker, Tohatchi High School, Tohatchi.
New York: Patricia Hall, Crown Point Central School, Crown Point.
North Carolina: James Knox, Eastern Alamance High School, Mebane.
North Dakota: Lori Kalash, Sweetwater Elementary School, Devil’s Lake.
Ohio: Dave Steirer, Al Root Middle School, Medina.
Oklahoma: Sheila Armstrong, Pamela Hodson Elementary School, Owasso.
Oregon: Frank Matthews, Reynolds High School, Troutdale.
Pennsylvania: Patricia Schall, Wilson Borough Elementary School, Wilson.
Puerto Rico: Lillian Toro Zapata, Miguel A. Rovera School, Hormigueros.
Rhode Island: Ronald Patenaude, Goff Junior High School, Pawtucket.
South Carolina: Jay Gaskin, Wade Hampton High School, Greenville.
South Dakota: Dawn Florey, Watertown Senior High School, Watertown.
Tennessee: Cheryl Mashburn, Farragut Middle School, Knoxville.
Texas: Salam Kausam, Cyprus Falls High School, Houston.
Utah: Samuel Tsugawa, Springville High School, Springville.
Vermont: Margaret Mehuron, Barre Town Middle School, Barre.
Virginia: Marguerite Yanovitch, Midlothian Middle School, Midlothian.
Washington: Harlan Kredit, Lynden Christian High School, Lynden.
West Virginia: Deborah Six, Lashmeet/Matoaka School, Matoaka.
Wisconsin: Cory Vandertie, Southern Door Elementary School, Brussels.
Wyoming: Shirley George, Wagon Wheel Elementary School, Gillette.
Urban Education
Two awards were recently given for outstanding leadership in urban education.
Scholastic Education awarded Michael Casserly, the executive director of the Council of Great City Schools, the first-ever Scholastic Leadership in Urban Education Award. Mr. Casserly and the council, a coalition of the nation’s largest urban public school districts, were honored for efforts to raise academic achievement for urban students nationwide.
Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Beverly Hall received the 2006 Richard R. Green Award at the Council of the Great City Schools’ 50th Annual Fall Conference in Washington.
Under Ms. Hall’s leadership, Atlanta public schools have closed the achievement gap between city students and other students across the state, lowered the district’s dropout rate, reduced the number of teacher vacancies and consolidated the Atlanta district’s 99 schools into 88. As the recipient of the Green Award, Ms. Hall received a $10,000 college scholarship to present to a high school senior of her choice in the Atlanta Public Schools.
History Teacher of the Year
Laura Bush awarded the “Preserve America History Teacher of the Year” Award to Gerry R. Kohler, a U.S. history teacher at VanDevender Junior High School in Parkersburg, W.Va. The award is a project of the Preserve America White House initiative and is funded by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Ms. Kohler was recognized for her many historical preservation efforts, including organizing a junior historical society with her students.
America’s Best Leaders
U.S. News and World Report recently announced its 2006 listing of “America’s Best Leaders,” selected for their work by a committee of government, community, and private-sector officials. Of the 20 winners and groups of winners, five were honored for their education-related accomplishments. Those honored for education-related efforts were: Joel I. Klein, the chancellor of the New York City public schools, honored together with New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg; Paul G. Vallas, the chief executive officer of the Philadelphia school district; Robert P. Moses, a civil-rights activist and the founder of the Algebra Project; and Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp.
