   Posted on: Thursday, October 12, 2000 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.
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.
* 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 satellite at 36 locations in the USA and five sites abroad. With a total average daily circulation of 2.3 million, USA TODAY is available worldwide.
Included in the USA TODAY brand are USATODAY.com, the top newspaper site on the Internet; USA TODAY Baseball Weekly, a weekly magazine for baseball enthusiasts; and USA TODAY LIVE, a broadcast operation that creates synergy between the USA TODAY newspaper, USATODAY.com and the Gannett Co., Inc., group of television stations. # # #
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Steve Anderson, Director/Communications Heidi Henderson, Manager/Media Relations USA TODAY USA TODAY 1000 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22229 1000 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22229 (703)276-5872 (703)276-5304 sanderson@usatoday.com hhenderson@usatoday.com
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. |