2000 All-USA Teacher Team
2000 All-USA Teacher Team
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Posted on: Thursday, October 12, 2000
Isle tech teacher recognized nationally
Advertiser Staff
Students at Nu'uanu Elementary call their technology teacher "Mr. Magic Man." Kelvin Chun has worked magic with the school computers, but he's also the real thing: a nationally award-winning magician complete with black tuxedo, white gloves and a rabbit.
As well as teaching students from kindergarten to sixth grade how to use technology to succeed in today's high-tech world, it's not uncommon for Chun to mesmerize them with tricks that teach concepts such as geometry and symmetry.
USA Today announced today that Chun is one of its 24 outstanding teachers in the nation.
It is the first time a Hawai'i teacher has been recognized in the three-year-old competition.
Under principal Eleanor Fujioka, Nu'uanu Elementary has always pushed the technology barrier. But Fujioka said Chun took that a step further when he arrived in 1998.
The school uses its computer and technology lab as a support for other classes - they go there to research class projects and create multimedia reports that blend text, graphics, animation and audio and video.
Through the school's Technology Club, Chun also trains students to become the tech supports for classroom teachers.
"I want to prepare them for the future and a multimedia society because that's what they're growing up with," Chun said.
Chun also introduced a Friday morning school broadcast with a cast of students, teachers and parents who report on school news, class projects and what's for lunch.
And it was Chun who insisted that even the kindergartners get involved in the broadcast - they're now the school's weather boys and girls.
Chun has an easy going manner with his students and sits on a kid-size wooden chair when he talks with them.
His balloon sculptures are another student favorite. He keeps a drawer full of colorful balloons and can twist up kids' favorite characters in minutes.
His innovative and approachable teaching also helped Chun become last year's Honolulu District Teacher of the Year.
Chun travels to Arlington, Va., this week for a recognition ceremony, where he will receive $2,500 for his school.
From Honolulu to New Haven, Conn., and elementary to high school, here
are the 17 individuals and three instructional teams named to USA
TODAY's 2000 All-USA Teacher First Team. As representatives of all
outstanding teachers, they each receive $2,500 for their schools.
Kelvin Chun
Nu'uanu Elementary School, Honolulu
Technology
Years teaching: 18
Nominated by: Eleanor Fujioka, principal
Works with teachers and staff to use ever-changing media lab for
project-based learning; school recognized nationally for its technology
use. Developed electronic portfolio system for all 400 students,
recording writing, multimedia work, year-by-year process. Helped develop
Project A'o like o Nu'uanu, in which second-graders research community's
history, culture, geography with Internet, field research, oral
histories for multimedia presentations. An award-winning magician, he
mesmerizes students with tricks that teach concepts like geometry and
symmetry; nicknamed "Mr. Magic Man." Advises technology club, in which
students produce live weekly video broadcast for school, maintain Web
site (www.nuuanu.k12.hi.us), serve as tech support for teachers. Makes
traditional Asian kites to teach state weather conditions. Keeps a
drawer of balloons to whip up balloon sculptures. Established a course
for high school students to learn from him, then help teach elementary
students. Says one of the best things he's ever done was return to the
classroom after working at the state and district level. Perches on a
kid-size wooden chair to talk with students. Views technology as
essential, not enrichment: "I want to prepare them for the future and a
multimedia society because that's what they're growing up with."
For Release
USA TODAY ANNOUNCES
2000 ALL-USA TEACHER FIRST TEAM
EMBARGO UNTIL AMs October 12, 2000
WASHINGTON -- USA TODAY named 24 winners to its third annual
All-USA Teacher First Team, honoring them as representatives of outstanding
teaching in our nation's schools. The 2000 First Team includes 17
individuals and three teams of teachers grades K-12.
The teachers will attend an awards luncheon at USA TODAY
headquarters in Arlington, Va., on October 13. The First Team teachers will
receive a trophy and a $2,500 cash award for their school.
"These teachers were selected for their abilities to advance
students' knowledge and make differences in people's lives. We are proud to
recognize these outstanding teachers who inspire us all," said USA TODAY
Editor Karen Jurgensen.
Following are the 24 First Team winners:
* Lisa J. Arnold
Riverview Elementary School, Sioux City, Iowa.
* Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Bigney
DuBois Area Middle and High School, DuBois, Penn.
* Harvey Burniston, Jr.
Johnson County Vocational School, Mountain City, Tenn.
* Kelvin YS Chun
Nu'uanu Elementary School, Honolulu, Hawaii
* Michael Stephen Comeau
Waller Elementary School, Bossier City, La.
* Norman Conard
Uniontown High School, Uniontown, Kan.
* Shawn Eric DeNight
Miami Edison Senior High School, Miami, Fla.
* Beverly G. Gallagher
Princeton Day School, Princeton, N.J.
* Joseph (Jay) B. Gaskin, III (now living in Asheville, N.C.)
Richmond Senior High School, Rockingham, N.C.
* Marge Christensen Gould
Catalina High Magnet School, Tucson, Ariz.
* Judy H. Gulledge
Northside Middle School, Norfolk, Va.
* Floyd T. Holt (retired June 2000)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School, Hyde Park, N.Y.
* Thomas Edward Lynch
Oshkosh West High School, Oshkosh, Wis.
* Teresa (Terry) Nelson
Muncie Central High School, Muncie, Ind.
* Susan Stem Price
Leggett Elementary School, Akron, Ohio
* Luis Recalde
Vincent E. Mauro Elementary School, New Haven, Conn.
* Karen Lord Rutter
Loganville High School, Loganville, Ga.
* "Auch/Ortiz Team"
Laura Auch
Maureen Ortiz
Phoenix Alternative High School, Cupertino, Calif.
* "School on the River Team"
Matthew Anderson
Debra Buswell
Michael Johnson
Longfellow Middle School, LaCrosse, Wis.
* "Botticelli Blue Team"
Margaret C. (Chris) Collier
Mary T. (Terry) Cook
Millennium Middle School, Sanford, Fla.
The First team was selected by a panel of judges from nominees from
across the country. Teachers could be nominated by school administrators,
students (past or present), students' parents, colleagues or family members.
Teachers were then asked to explain their teaching philosophy and their
approach to achieving success.
Criteria for the All-USA Teacher Team were developed in consultation
with the National Association of Secondary School Principals, National
Middle School Association, National Association of Elementary School
Principals, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, and the
National Education Association.
The 2000 All-USA Teacher Team final judges were:
Carol Antes, 1998 All-USA Teacher First Team
Jack Berckemeyer, National Middle School Association
Fred Brown, National Association of Elementary School Principals
John Butterfield, National Education Association
Gene Carter, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
Tina Cross, 1999 All-USA Teacher First Team
Penelope Earley, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
Dick Flanary, National Association of Secondary School Principals
Mary Hatwood Futrell, The George Washington University
Gary Galluzzo, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
Tim McDonough, American Council on Education
Robert Thornton, Housatonic Community College
For more information on these winners as well as the second- and
third-team members, see the Thursday, October 12 editions of USA TODAY or
log on to www.usatoday.com.
USA TODAY is the nation's top selling newspaper. It is published via
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Inc., group of television stations.
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USA TODAY USA TODAY
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Classroom vision makes learning grow
By Tracey Wong Briggs, USA TODAY
Norman Conard teaches diversity and tolerance at an overwhelmingly white
Kansas high school by having students produce multicultural history
projects. Lisa Arnold uses music to bring cultural harmony to an Iowa
elementary school experiencing an influx of immigrants. And Harvey
Burniston Jr. teaches students new ways to farm in a Tennessee town
where the tobacco market is shrinking.
In educating students, Conard, Burniston and Arnold also are changing
their communities. And they are among the 20 educators named to USA
TODAY's third annual All-USA Teacher First Team as representatives of
all outstanding teachers. The 17 individuals and three instructional
teams will receive trophies and checks for $2,500 for their schools
Friday at USA TODAY headquarters in Arlington, Va. Forty more educators
are named to the Second and Third teams.
"We honor these teachers for their vision, creativity and ability to
inspire the best in their students," says USA TODAY Editor Karen
Jurgensen, who will present the awards. "We recognize that their work
changes society for the better, one student at a time."
Winners were selected from hundreds of nominees by two panels of
educators. First Teamers teach in wide-ranging situations, from Beverly
Gallagher, who nurtures third-grade poets at Princeton Day School, a
prep school in New Jersey, to Shawn DeNight, who views the student
newspaper he revived as a beacon of literacy for Miami Edison High,
which has the highest percentage of limited-English-proficient students
in Florida.
What unites First Teamers is their ability to transform students into
lifelong learners. And in educating students, First Teamers ultimately
improve their communities:
Burniston is considered the catalyst in turning Johnson County
Vocational School's agriculture program into a hub of long-term economic
development in Mountain City, Tenn. Students harvest 200 pounds of
hydroponic (no-soil) produce a week and 25,000 pounds of fish a year.
"To try to change something, you've got to educate everybody," he says.
"But it starts with young people."
Conard's Uniontown (Kan.) High School students not only win national
acclaim for their films and drama performances, but also form lasting
friendships with their subjects. Last spring, the widow and daughter of
civil rights martyr Bill Moore journeyed from Pennsylvania to rural
Uniontown for the graduation of two students who dramatized his story. "
People are being changed in our community, and the students' lives are
being changed, too," Conard says.
Arnold's students in Sioux City, Iowa, learn about other cultures by
turning coffee cans into steel drums, PVC pipes into Australian
didgeridoos and mailing tubes into South American rain sticks. At a
school that shifted from 5% to 52% minority in five years, playground
soccer teams no longer form by race, Arnold says. Now, the only
prejudice she sees is when new children come in. "Sometimes they aren't
used to different cultures and don't know how to interact."
By any means Arnold isn't the only First Teamer to embrace the challenges that
immigration, poverty and language differences bring to their schools.
Miami's DeNight and elementary school teachers Michael Comeau and Luis
Recalde combine uncommon energy, relentlessly high expectations and
active learning to help students beat the odds.
Comeau's fourth-grade classroom is a blur of hands-on projects, service
learning activities and field trips, but his students also manage to
read four times as many Accelerated Reader books as any other class at
Waller Elementary School in Bossier City, La. "There's a way to reach
everyone," Comeau says. "You just have to be creative."
In New Haven, Conn., Recalde started soccer teams and gardens to foster
unity and civic pride among the black and Hispanic students at Vincent
E. Mauro Elementary School. An immigrant from Ecuador himself, he uses
every opportunity to help his students, drawing on his Yale fellowship
with the Peabody Museum to bring microscopes, specimens and even lab
coats to his classroom.
The Peabody's Laura Fawcett recalls asking Recalde why he takes on so
much while he's stretched so thin: "He said, 'Because I want my students
to have every opportunity. They're down one at least.'"
Back from the brink
Three First Team members have gained renown for their success at dropout
prevention. Their approaches vary, but all involve massive doses of
encouragement:
Teaming allows Maureen Ortiz and Laura Auch of Phoenix Alternative High
in Cupertino, Calif., to bolster a highly structured environment with
perpetual encouragement for students who often lack both, they say.
The Botticelli Blue Team of Margaret Collier and Mary Cook used
student-directed units infused with art to reach the bottom fourth of
the class at Millennium Middle School in Sanford, Fla. Working around a
single theme, their self-described "dog-and-pony show" helped spark
students' interest and self-worth.
Marge Christensen Gould's LEARN Center at Catalina High Magnet School in
Tucson relies on community mentors to guide students through a
self-paced program incorporating reading, writing, computers and
workplace skills. "These kids are so used to being put down," Gould
says. "When they get confidence from achieving things they set their
minds to, they really blossom."
Hands-on learning
In one way or another, all First Team members employ hands-on learning,
having their students learn to do and do to learn:
Kelvin Chun has students as young as kindergarten help produce a weekly
video broadcast, create multimedia portfolios and do computer research
at Nu'uanu Elementary in Honolulu.
The School on the River, an interdisciplinary team at Longfellow Middle
School in La Crosse, Wis., turns the mighty Mississippi into a powerful
learning experience. Debra Buswell, Michael Johnson and Matthew Andersen
(along with Marie Torres, added this year) have students complete
research projects and collect baseline data for a U.S. Geological Survey
study on a drawdown of the river.
Karen Lord Rutter teaches early childhood education by having students
run a preschool at Loganville (Ga.) High. Students design everything
from lessons to lunch menus and quickly learn whether they're cut out
for teaching.
Teresa Nelson of Muncie (Ind.) Central High has the newspaper staff dig
into such serious issues as teachers' contract negotiations. Principal
Dick Daniel credits the think tanks and mini-town-hall meetings the
newspaper staff held for helping get the school off academic probation
last year.
"This is real, and it's serious," says Nelson, who was fired from her
first journalism teaching job 21 years ago over freedom of the student
press. "What they do does make a difference."
Both Betty Bigney and Floyd Holt have engaged students in major projects
such as building robots and using lasers. For Bigney, who teaches gifted
middle and high school students in DuBois, Pa., hands-on projects are
the most natural way to turn students used to sitting quietly and
getting A's into active learners. For Holt, they're the ticket to
reaching everybody.
"A parent is not sure how to react when a child comes home from school
with tales of dropping bowling balls out the windows and shooting
rockets in the athletic fields," says Judith Walsh, parent of three of
Holt's physics students at Franklin D. Roosevelt High in Hyde Park, N.Y.
"But it worked."
Students first
Whatever the means, First Teamers teach individuals, not subjects.
After winning $80,000 in grants to buy computers and graphing
calculators for Richmond Senior High in Rockingham, N.C., Joseph Gaskin
III developed Math, Model and Make, in which students attack a physics
problem as a math problem, as a computer model and as a physical
experiment. Teaming lab partners of different learning styles helps them
learn and respect their strengths, Gaskin says.
Science department chairman Judy Gulledge was instrumental in
integrating Chesapeake Bay studies across the curriculum so successfully
that in Norfolk, Va., Northside Middle School is known as "the Bay
School." But faced with 15 non- and low-level readers last year,
Gulledge got the seventh-graders scheduled in one class, took special
training and taught them to read. "It had to be done," she says .
And Susan Stem Price has been instrumental in developing a system in
which students have individualized goals monitored by electronic
portfolios. As a member of the school district's Strategic Planning
Committee, the Leggett Elementary teacher is training teachers
throughout Akron, Ohio.
Ultimately, teaching the way First Teamers teach takes vision,
creativity, skill -- and staggering amounts of time. Speech and drama
teacher Thomas Lynch pulls up in the Oshkosh (Wis.) West High parking
lot at 5 every morning and often doesn't leave until 9 at night . Late
in his fourth decade of teaching, he has yet to take a sick day.
"I want school to mean more than just work," he says. "It is supposed to
be an experience."
Reported by Laura Bly in Sanford, Fla.; Eric Bradley in Oshkosh, Wis.;
Mary Bustamante in Tucson; Larry Copeland in Loganville, Ga.; Ronda
Cornelius in Uniontown, Kan.; John Davis in Hyde Park, N.Y.; Brandy N.
Evans in Bossier City, La.; Robin Gibson in Muncie, Ind.; Cathy Lynn
Grossman in Miami; Charisse Jones in New Haven, Conn.; Alice Keesing in
Honolulu; Anita Manning in Princeton, N.J.; Mary Beth Marklein in La
Crosse, Wis.; Yalinda Moore in Akron, Ohio; Dan Vergano in DuBois, Pa.;
Brenda Wade Schmidt in Sioux City, Iowa; Elizabeth Weise in Cupertino,
Calif.; and Tracey Wong Briggs in Norfolk, Va., and Mountain City, Tenn.
From Honolulu to New Haven, Conn., and elementary to high school, here
are the 17 individuals and three instructional teams named to USA
TODAY's 2000 All-USA Teacher First Team. As representatives of all
outstanding teachers, they each receive $2,500 for their schools.
Lisa Arnold
Riverview Elementary School, Sioux City, Iowa
Music
Years teaching: 21
Nominated by: Lemoyen Hunter, principal
Teaches multicultural appreciation through music, the universal
language, at a school experiencing an influx of immigrants from many
nations; half the students speak English as a second language. Formed
Multicultural Music Instrument Factory, in which students make
instruments from cultures they study. Wrote grants to bring in musicians
from many cultures as artists-in-residence. Founded, hosted Project
Worldsong, a partnership of elementary schools across the nation to
share writings, photos, cassettes of multicultural music from their
areas. Started "science of steel drums" class involving hands-on study
of sound, Caribbean culture, coffee-can steel drum construction,
performance. Founded Riverstomp, a street percussion group using found
objects like garbage can lids. Incorporates dancing and movement into
classes: "I just try to avoid at all costs just standing there and
singing." Uses martial-arts-like colored string "belts" to reward
proficiency at the recorder. "I never thought I'd find all these
cultures in Iowa," she says. "It's exactly what I want to do."
Betty Bigney
DuBois (Pa.) Area Middle and High School
Gifted, grades 6-12
Years teaching: 29
Nominated by: Shawna Grim, middle school assistant principal
Stresses hands-on learning, teaches robotics, puppetry and technology
skills to 199 students in gifted program. ... Coordinates regular "laser
light shows" in which students from whole school participate. ...
Schoolwide Young Astronauts program has taken students to meet President
Clinton and talk to shuttle crew members in space. ... Had students
resurrect a weather station now used to determine snow days for school
district. ... Learned darkroom skills to teach photography; now students
practice creating holograms. Has students put on marionette shows to
teach elementary school kids about substance abuse. "I guess I'm just
hyperactive." Says nominator Shawna Grim: "She's our Indiana Jones:
Where other people see walls, she runs right through them." ... Dropped
out of teaching after first year "because the 'ideal' methods don't
work"; returned to teach her own curriculum. A pool manager and
substitute teacher, she was recruited at DuBois when teachers saw her
taking apart, fixing a pool heater. Organizes yearly cancer benefit run
and meteor-watching parties for community. "I have the best job in the
world; I get paid to come and play with the kids."
Harvey Burniston Jr.
Johnson County Vocational School, Mountain City, Tenn.
Agriculture
Years teaching: 19
Nominated by: Steven Gibson, colleague
Catalyst in transforming dwindling agriculture department into premier
program drawing visitors from other countries to alternative farming
center with hydroponic (no soil) plants, hanging ferns, fish. Has
students lead tours: "When you can teach, you have learned well."
Students learn farming from seed to sale, harvesting 200 pounds of
produce a week sold locally, 25,000 pounds of fish each year.
Instrumental in developing local alternatives to tobacco, a major cash
crop whose market is shrinking. Emphasizes public speaking, leadership:
"Farmers haven't gotten everything they've needed in the past because
they were too busy working and not speaking up for themselves." Had
students landscape public buildings, businesses all over town. Leads
department of six, four of whom are former students. Works with teachers
at adjacent high school to teach across curriculum; students dissect
fish in biology, calculate logarithms of pH in algebra, learn about
regulations and grants in government. "No matter what career they're
getting into, we have something in our program to help them be
successful." Covers classroom with inspirational quotes; above the
doorway is his motto: "If you choose an occupation that you love, you'll
never have to work a day in your life."
Kelvin Chun
Nu'uanu Elementary School, Honolulu
Technology
Years teaching: 18
Nominated by: Eleanor Fujioka, principal
Works with teachers and staff to use ever-changing media lab for
project-based learning; school recognized nationally for its technology
use. Developed electronic portfolio system for all 400 students,
recording writing, multimedia work, year-by-year process. Helped develop
Project A'o like o Nu'uanu, in which second-graders research community's
history, culture, geography with Internet, field research, oral
histories for multimedia presentations. An award-winning magician, he
mesmerizes students with tricks that teach concepts like geometry and
symmetry; nicknamed "Mr. Magic Man." Advises technology club, in which
students produce live weekly video broadcast for school, maintain Web
site (www.nuuanu.k12.hi.us), serve as tech support for teachers. Makes
traditional Asian kites to teach state weather conditions. Keeps a
drawer of balloons to whip up balloon sculptures. Established a course
for high school students to learn from him, then help teach elementary
students. Says one of the best things he's ever done was return to the
classroom after working at the state and district level. Perches on a
kid-size wooden chair to talk with students. Views technology as
essential, not enrichment: "I want to prepare them for the future and a
multimedia society because that's what they're growing up with."
Michael Comeau
Waller Elementary School, Bossier City, La.
Fourth grade
Years teaching: 8
Nominated by: Laurrel Oliver, principal
Expects nothing less than "120%" of every student, every day; all but
one passed most recent state mandate test (state average: 79%) at school
serving as English as a Second Language hub and drawing students from
several impoverished neighborhoods. Wrote grants to fund computer lab,
"Parknership Waller" environmental service learning program, schoolwide
arts instruction from professional artists. Had students research,
implement community recycling drive netting 42 tons of recyclables,
earning $1,100. Involves students in community service, assisting at
homeless shelter, painting homes for the elderly, making food baskets,
building butterfly gardens. Teaches with hands-on projects, using
textbooks as a reference. Spent past summer in Japan on Fulbright
Fellowship for educators. "I try to meet the needs of each of the
students in my class whether it's through hands-on projects, field trips
or experiments. Whatever it takes to grab their attention and make them
ask why." Says Diana UpChurch, Bossier Parish ESL coordinator: "He
challenges his kids to the nth degree, but the kids love and respect
him."
Norman Conard
Uniontown (Kan.) High School
Social studies, video production
Years teaching: 25
Nominated by: Deborah Parks, former colleague
Teaches tolerance, diversity in overwhelmingly white, rural school by
having students research multicultural history projects; many win
national awards. Student film led to a reunion of Elizabeth Eckford, one
of the Little Rock Nine integration pioneers, and Ken Reinhardt, a white
student who befriended her, in an event covered by CNN. Student drama of
Irena Sendler, who smuggled Jewish children out of Warsaw ghetto in
World War II, performed as far away as New York, covered by C-SPAN, NPR;
students still write her in Poland, pass the hat after performances for
the 91-year-old. Taps technology to connect rural school to the world;
won grants for computers. allowing primary research on the Internet.
"Once they are really turned on to a subject in history, the teacher's
job is the easiest in the world." Says superintendent Chuck Shelton: "He
claims he doesn't do anything but provide them a little direction, but
he's here early and he's here late." "The students change lives; they
change attitudes. Our students are more tolerant and more understanding
of the diversity of our world than their parents and grandparents, and
these projects are a big part of it."
Shawn DeNight
Miami Edison Senior High School
English, journalism
Years teaching: 15
Nominated by: Ramona Frischman, district administrator
"Say yes, yes to everything that comes along," he preaches at a school
with facing many challenges: 60% immigrants, overwhelming poverty, 45%
student turnover. "I love an underdog. There's so much raw talent here."
Sees greatest weapon as "setting high standards for my students, and
then guiding them step-by-step toward success." Shepherds a new staff
crop of journalism students each year through publication of newspaper
rich in issues of service and interest for students and parents, from
high-stakes testing to lunch policies. Piloted computer programs,
brought new computers into his classroom. Holds Ph.D., certification
from National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. A frequent
teacher trainer, he won two National Endowment for the Humanities
fellowships and a U.S. Information Agency award to share strategies in
Russia and the Ukraine. Sponsors Edison's National Honor Society
chapter. Volunteers to teach after-school English classes for immigrants
who may be the first in their families to read in any language. "Never
sit down," he tells new teachers; runs on weekends to stay in shape for
engaging students at the county's most-improved school. DeNight can say
"No," principal Santiago Corrada says: "(He) refuses countless
opportunities to be promoted out of the classroom."
Beverly Gallagher
Princeton (N.J.) Day School
Third grade
Years teaching: 18
Nominated by: Deborah Sze Modelewski, parent and school trustee
Inspires students to approach reading time with the enthusiasm of a trip
to Disney World. Developed schoolwide Imagine the Possibilities program
that brings nationally known poets, authors and artists such as Mary
Pope Osborne to campus in the spring. Phones each student's parents
every two weeks or so to report their child's tiny triumphs, new
interests, great achievements. Frequent presenter of national workshops
for teachers; last summer initiated Weaving Words, a three-day writing
workshop for 75 teachers from as far away as Hong Kong. Invites students
from the Upper School to work with small groups in her class while she
helps students individually with math. "Poetry Partnerships" pair third-
and 11th-graders for two months of reading and writing poetry. Has each
student keep a writer's notebook to record thoughts, inspirations or
just "words that tickle your fancy." Reads every book in her classroom
so that she can discuss reading with each student. Students vie to sit
in "Author's Chair," from which they read their writing aloud. "I try to
immerse them in good literature, but I'm a classroom teacher - I love
math and social studies, too." Does item analyses of math tests to
figure out who isn't getting it so she can come up with new techniques
to teach them. Tailors curriculum to each student. Helps her students
form book discussion groups, called literary circles. Confers with each
child while the others have reading time. "Behavioral issues? I don't
see them," she says. "When kids are engaged in work they find
meaningful, those things fly out the window.
Joseph Gaskin III
Richmond Senior High School, Rockingham, N.C.
Physics, chemistry (moved to Asheville, N.C., for family reasons; still
consults at Richmond Senior High)
Years teaching: 6
Nominated by: Ralph Robertson, principal
Retired Air Force colonel was recruited through Troops to Teachers to
teach in one of North Carolina's poorest, most rural counties. Credited
with raising physics state proficiency exam pass rate from 35% to 100%
and nearly doubling chemistry scores in six years, while also increasing
enrollment. Won $80,000 in grants for computers, graphing calculators,
computer-based labs. Developed "Math, Model and Make" program in which
students solve physics problems three ways: as math problem, as a
computer model, as a physical experiment. Has students calculate how
long a Bic lighter will last. Teams lab partners with different
achievement levels and learning styles to tap synergy, maximize
cooperative learning. Deducts points from lab reports if students ask
him facile questions: "They realize there's no easy answer coming from
the teacher." Had chemistry students analyze river and stream samples
for U.S. Geological Survey acid rain study. Gives students a chance to
earn up to 90 points if they can explain what they did wrong to make an
experiment fail: "Most science is learned by mistakes." Says principal
Ralph Robertson, "He treads that delicate balance that some teachers
can't achieve: doing fun-type activities while students are learning at
the highest level possible."
Marge Christensen Gould
Catalina High Magnet School, Tucson, Ariz.
English, literacy, workplace skills
Years teaching: 26
Nominated by: Lawrence McKee Jr., principal
Her motto: "High tech, high touch (one-to-one student/teacher
interaction) high expectation." Started Literacy Education And Reading
Network (LEARN) Center 13 years ago with a grant from the Arizona
Supreme Court to help keep at-risk students out of the criminal justice
system. Makes students responsible for progress in self-paced program,
emphasizing reading, writing and computer skills, job marketability. Has
students write down personal and academic goals each week. Leads
classroom-turned-professional office by mutual respect. Students are
mentored and return at night to mentor adults to whom Gould opened the
program. LEARN Center students have 98% graduation rate, nearly 6%
higher than school at large. Started non-profit Educational ReadSources,
Inc. (www.edreadsources.com) to provide seminars and train teachers; has
published books, case study, journal articles and trained teachers in
several states. "Seeing major changes in people in a very short time is
the most rewarding part of my job." "These kids are so used to being put
down. When they get confidence from achieving things they set their
minds to, they really blossom." Says principal Lawrence McKee Jr.: "To
'Marge-It' means that a task will be accomplished quickly, profoundly,
professionally and expertly. Just ask her students."
Judy Gulledge
Northside Middle School, Norfolk, Va.
Seventh-grade science
Years teaching: 28
Nominated by: Ted Daughtrey, principal
Co-developed Success Through Synergy, integrating nearby Chesapeake Bay
and environmental studies across curriculum. Helped win $300,000 grant
to start Maritime Studies Pathway magnet, an
elementary-middle-high-school chain integrating marine science studies;
middle school students raise fish and hydroponic plants, explore role of
land use in bay ecology. Northside students raise 12,000 oysters from
spat each year to reseed bay. Facilitates annual student-organized
Chesapeake Bay Student Conference, in which Northside students teach 400
students from other schools. Faced with 15 non- and low-level readers,
she got them scheduled into one class, sought training from a specialist
and taught them to read. Took eighth-graders to a pool hall to study
Newton's laws of motion. Runs task-oriented classes that team students
by learning type; though the classroom bustles, she never has to raise
her voice. Co-founded book club to bus students to bookstore for monthly
browsing and book discussion. Takes field trips as long as three days;
overnight element helps her understand students, build relationships.
Teamed with an English teacher to have students publish oral histories
of Smith Island (bay) residents for book sold professionally. Discovered
standardized test scores shot up after some of the biggest bay projects:
"When you're doing something that authentic, the test skills are going
to take care of themselves." As a teacher, she's an artist who's
constantly perfecting her skill, says colleague Christine Capaci: "Judy
is the most authentic teacher I've ever known."
Floyd Holt
F. D. Roosevelt High School, Hyde Park, N.Y.
Physics
Years teaching: 32; retired in June
Nominated by: Agnes Laub, district administrator
Used hand-built R2D2 and girlfriend R2she2 robots, "RoboTeacher,"
Starship Enterprise model attract students to his "Classroom of the
Future," where they learned physics by building robots, a student-driven
rocket truck and a 6-foot-long carbon dioxide laser. For five years,
Roosevelt had the highest physics enrollment in the state. Principal
grant writer for more than $3 million in equipment. Enthusiasm for
hands-on physics grounded in an allegiance to high standards; served on
district standards committee. "Floyd's class provided just enough to
keep his students searching for more," says parent Judith Walsh. Spent
entire teaching career at Roosevelt, sometimes moonlighting at community
college and Vassar. Motivating students begins with self-motivation: "I
would like more people to elevate the awareness that education is the
most important thing, and to turn our teachers into heroes." Frequent
presenter on interactive physics instruction, teamed with Isaac Asimov
for robotics presentation at Long Island University. Published papers on
"Physics of Karate," "Bowling Ball Physics." In retirement, plans to
transform "Classroom of the Future" (www.spaceshipclassroom.com) into a
"Space Science Discovery Center," a tourist and educational site: "I
think now is a good opportunity for me to use all this equipment, and
all these people I know, and skills I have, to try to help others
further the cause of children. The time to really get those kids is at a
young age."
Thomas Lynch
Oshkosh (Wis.) West High School
Speech, drama
Years teaching: 38
Nominated by: Cecil Streeter, colleague
Runs programs that are the envy of the state; reigning state champion
forensics team has won 17 straight state excellence awards; drama club
has qualified for one-act-play state competition 16 times. A former Army
Reserve sergeant, he's an acknowledged motivational master: "When
students are in danger of losing touch with school, they are often
transferred to Tom's class where, more often than not, they find the
courage to succeed," says colleague Jeffrey See. Teaches the value and
power of individuality by listening intently to everything each student
says. Starting 38th year of teaching without a sick day; arrives at
school at 5 a.m. and usually doesn't leave for 12 to 16 hours. Considers
classroom a "home room," where kids can be themselves, with seniors-only
couch, signs, trophies, props, quote of the day; won't put his desk in
front because "students are the focal point." Students call themselves
"The Lynch Mob." Packs two buses for forensics tournaments; 100-member
team is 5% of student body. Calls students to attention with polite
"thank you"; ends every class by saying, "I appreciate your work. I love
you all. Have a good day." Considers it an honor when students confide
in him. Loves playing devil's advocate to challenge why students believe
what they do. Says former student Ryan Buck: "If he were to appear in
the cartoon Peanuts, I firmly believe that he would be the first adult
who actually spoke to the kids instead of just squawking at them."
Teresa Nelson
Muncie (Ind.) Central High School
Journalism, newspaper, yearbook
Years teaching: 25
Nominated by: Dick Daniel, principal
Aspired to be a journalist but took a teaching job while her husband was
in college. Fired after five years after clashes with administrators
over freedom of press issues; rehired a month later after school system
sought legal advice: "I wasn't going to let them fire me and hire
someone else who would censor the kids." Twelve years later, elected to
the school board that fired her. For the past eight years, has advised
Central High's newspaper and yearbook, consistently winning state and
national awards and producing college journalism majors. Biweekly paper
tackles weighty issues, local and national. : "This is real and it's
serious. What they do does make a difference." "It takes almost as long
to put out a crummy paper as it does to put out an excellent one."
Recruits diverse staff to ensure a variety of voices. Makes student
editors responsible for publications and for mentoring newcomers. Had
staff organize "think tanks" and "mini-town hall meetings" for students
when school's accreditation was in danger last year; principal Dick
Daniel says meetings helped the school get off probation. "It was a
great way to bring a little focus." Spent summer of 1997 interning as a
reporter for the local daily. Has taught undergraduate and graduate
journalism courses part-time and during the summer. Journeyed to Czech
Republic and Slovakia in 1999 to teach students about press freedom,
rights, responsibilities. Authored yearbook photography textbook and
released two photojournalism education videos. Says parent John Seidel:
"She is like a great general who inspires his men by connecting with
them on their own level."
Susan Stem Price
Leggett Elementary School, Akron, Ohio
Primary multiage
Years teaching: 22
Nominated by: William Atkinson, principal
Belief that children enter school at different stages of development and
often suffer in "traditional cookie-cutter (learning) formats" led her
to help school and district break molds. As charter member of district's
Strategic Planning Team, coordinates Personalizing Learning for Your
Students (PLYS) program, which focuses on children's different learning
levels and abilities. Coaches teachers across district in the PLYS
system. Instrumental in initiating key components of PLYS: the Personal
Education Plan and the Electronic Portfolio, which map out individual
education goals for students and track progress using computer profiles
and progress reports instead of traditional report cards. Teamed with
other Leggett teachers to implement multiage classrooms; now coordinates
school district's multiage program. Her goal is to "understand how kids
learn differently and deal with them at that place first to get them to
their grade level and beyond." Wrote four grants since 1997 that brought
more than $75,000 to the district, including the $35,000 Christa
McAuliffe Fellowship allowing her to study new methods, train teachers.
Price's students' motto: "I will strain my brain to learn."
Luis Recalde
Vincent E. Mauro Elementary School, New Haven, Conn.
Fourth and fifth grade
Years teaching: 29
Nominated by: Reginald Mayo, superintendent
Started school soccer teams, community and school gardens to foster
unity at impoverished school with many ethnic groups; uses gardens to
teach science, math, civic involvement. Infuses each hands-on,
interdisciplinary lesson with enthusiasm; has students applaud right
answers or a job well done. Pursuing Ph.D. at University of Connecticut.
Taps Yale University Fellowship with Peabody Museum to bring specimens,
microscopes, even lab coats to classroom. Immigrated to USA from Ecuador
in high school; learned to speak English in New York's garment district.
Held science fair workshops for teachers and often gives up vacation to
help students with science projects; several take city's top honors. As
one of the science fair founders, "It was my duty to see that things
would take root, like the plants in the garden.'' Joined forces with art
and music teachers to have students put on assemblies, productions on
Afro-Puerto Rican poetry and African mythology to help children overcome
perceived differences. Taught high school and college in New York before
coming to New Haven as an elementary teacher. Grading system includes
student self-assessment; if his scores disagree, he explains why. Says
superintendent Reginald Mayo: "Here's a guy who can interact with young
people, fourth and fifth graders, and also interact with Yale professors
and those who are alumni of Yale at the Yale Club. He has a great
rapport with all people, and it's a never-ending kind of energy."
Karen Lord Rutter
Loganville (Ga.) High School
Early childhood education
Years teaching: 21
Nominated by: Ken Prichard, former administrator
Created, teaches Early Childhood Education Program, in which high school
students run on-campus preschool, observe classrooms, serve public
school internships; those finishing 2-year program with at least a B
earn college credit. Has students direct all aspects of "Loganville
Little Learners," a half-day preschool for 12 4-year-olds, from planning
lessons, teaching, setting up field trips, designing permission slips.
Students quickly figure out whether teaching is for them; some say: " 'I
didn't realize it took 18 hours a day. This is not the job for me.' "
Has students create, update portfolio with resume, work documentation,
creative ideas file. Teaches students that when they cross "the line" -
where classroom linoleum becomes preschool's carpet - they forget their
own problems and focus on the children: "If you're having a bad day or
whatever, it doesn't matter, because once you cross that line, it's not
about you," says Brandon Wilkes, 17. Developed ECE after teaching
parenting and family life classes so useful many students recommended
they be required. Presenter at national conferences; earned doctorate in
1998. Mentors students in numerous service learning projects, including
providing free babysitting so parents can attend school meetings. "When
you watch them take what you teach them and apply it, sometimes better
than you, you just fall in love."
Laura Auch/Maureen Ortiz
Phoenix Alternative School, Cupertino, Calif.
English, social studies and personal development
Years teaching: 30 years (Auch), 31 years (Ortiz)
Nominated by: Barbara Lacerenza, former principal
Have team-taught English at voluntary alternative school since it was
founded 12 years ago; created classes in self-esteem, male
responsibility. Huge sign over blackboard says: "We believe you were
born inherently worthy." Back up highly structured environment with
constant support and encouragement. Stress appropriate behavior at all
times; classes are strict, quiet and polite. "We expect demeanor of
ladies and gentlemen," Auch says. "We're creating an atmosphere of
respect." Get hardened non-readers reading up to a novel a week. Break
down quarters into three independent lessons; students who stumble on
one haven't blown the whole quarter. Call parents to report not only
absences or tardiness, but also good progress or a job well done. Lead
16-week Communities and Cultures workshops to celebrate diversity, curb
school violence. Won state grant to expand peer program in which teen
moms speak to freshmen science classes; teen pregnancy is down almost
40% in district. Shake hands with each student at the end of the class
each day. Says Ortiz: "They have to look us in the eye or they go back
to the end of the line to try again."
School on the River
Matthew Andersen, Michael Johnson (both math/science), Debra Buswell
(language arts/social studies)
Longfellow Middle School, La Crosse, Wis.
Multiage interdisciplinary
Years teaching: 3 (Andersen), 17 (Buswell), 8 (Johnson)
Nominated by: Glen Jenkins, principal
Uses the Mississippi River as its classroom; students help U.S.
Geological Survey research plant, animal life for river drawdown study.
Program's 106 students reflect a cross-section of the school, including
learning disabled students, to draw on different learning styles.
Received $45,000 in grants this year; earlier grants bought flat-bottom
boats, canoes, kayaks, life jackets. Physical education teacher gives
lessons on water safety, canoeing. Have each student complete "capstone
project," a master's degree-like program in which each becomes the class
expert on a topic. One is studying zebra mussels, which threaten the
native fish; two others are creating materials to be used in an outdoor
classroom at the USGS. Have students keep field trip journals. Require
final research papers to include a proposal, formal paper requiring
quantitative or qualitative research and an abstract. Respond to the
river's teachable moments; when a garter snake is caught, it's brought
back to the school so its food intake and growth can be monitored. Says
Johnson: "This is a work in progress. I haven't taught the same thing
two years in a row."
Botticelli Blue Team
Margaret Collier, Mary Cook
Millennium Middle School, Sanford, Fla.
Sixth grade interdisciplinary/intensive remediation
Years teaching: 23 (Collier); 21 (Cook)
Nominated by: Marian C. Hillery, former student
Teamed for two years to teach bottom quarter of class at arts magnet
school where nearly half the students get free or subsidized lunch.
Created award-winning TIERS (Teaching Integrated Education through
Related Subject areas) curriculum to boost self-esteem, academic skills;
student-centered units include research, reading tutorial, group work,
presentations. Arts-infused classes often directed by students; an
offhand comment on rainforests led to a four-month project transforming
classroom into a jungle with enough stacked buckets and bottles to hold
100 inches of rainfall. In one year, more than half the students raised
reading levels by at least two years, while discipline referrals dropped
more than 40%. "Anything is possible if you dream big, work hard, share
the crayons and love kids," they say. Lessons frequently accompanied by
the recorded strains of Zuni flutes, soul singer Erykah Badu or
Tchaikovsky. Team-taught fifth grade dropout prevention program for two
years before moving together to Millennium Middle School; now working
with other teachers on inclusion team. Send students birthday cards and
serve as sounding boards for personal problems: "For many of these kids,
(class) is a haven and a sanctuary," Collier says. "They come and search
us out for a hug." "If you can get one hook into kids, you've got them
for life," Cook says. "For us, the arts are the hook. They're not all
going to be another Vincent Van Gogh, but they can all express
themselves."
USA TODAY seeks 20 outstanding teachers, both individuals and
instructional teams, to honor as representatives of all outstanding
teachers. The 20 members of the third annual All-USA Teacher First Team
will be featured in USA TODAY in October and will be flown to Arlington,
Va., for an awards luncheon, where they will receive a trophy and $2,500
for their schools. Twenty teachers each will be named to the Second and
Third Teams.
The All-USA Teacher Team has been developed in cooperation with the
National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Middle
School Association, National Association of Elementary School
Principals, the National Education Association and American Association
of Colleges for Teacher Education.
Eligibility:
* Any active, full-time individual teacher or instructional team not
previously named to the First Team may be nominated. Nominees may come
from any accredited school, public or private. Teams nominated as a unit
should be composed of no more than six full-time teachers who team teach
- that is, they are all assigned the same group of students and
collaborate to plan, teach and evaluate them. Teachers who team teach a
course are eligible for this recognition, but those who teach
individually but work together on special projects or programs are not.
If the team is composed of members who work both full-time and part-time
with the team, only members who work full-time with the team are
eligible for this recognition.
* Nominees must be full-time teachers in grades K-12 who hold a teaching
certificate. Preschool and pre-kindergarten teachers are not eligible
for this recognition. Nominated teams must be intact for the 1999-2000
school year.
* Each individual or team of teachers must be nominated by someone willing
to tell us in writing what the nominee has done to advance a student's
knowledge, unlock a mind or make a difference in a life. An
administrator must certify that the nominee or team members are
licensed, full-time teachers.
* Each nominee or team member must complete and sign the attached form.
Teachers may not be nominated without their knowledge.
* The nominee must explain to us in writing how the teacher/team achieves
success.