起点传媒has an incredible membership, filled with vibrant teachers and faculty who are dedicated to their students every day. This year, ten 起点传媒members were recognized as extraordinary teachers by their colleagues in their respective states.聽 We have already recognized , and appreciate her advocacy for students and teachers.
Let鈥檚 meet the others:
, a high school English language arts teacher in West Virginia, was inspired to teach while correcting grammar in the songs she used in the jazzercise class she taught. 鈥淚 love words. I love literature and grammar, and so you鈥檝e got to turn a passion into something you can do for a living.鈥� 聽She helped secure seven West Virginia Interscholastic Forensic League state championships. Gail strongly believes in showing her students she cares and inspiring them to have a passion for learning.
, a third grade teacher in Michigan, noted in that in the last year, 鈥淚 found my purpose鈥y voice鈥y passion鈥y team.鈥� She concluded 鈥淚 ignited the flame鈥nd made an impact.鈥� For Melody, teacher leadership is critical and she 鈥渞allied for more opportunities for those that are anxious to break through the walls of their classrooms and extend their reach.鈥� But Melody鈥檚 true passion is the prevention of bullying and she wrote the book, 鈥�,鈥� to highlight that even the nicest of students can exclude and be hurtful to others at times.
is 础濒补产补尘补鈥檚 State Teacher of the Year, a National Teacher of the Year Finalist, and a member of . 聽As an advocate for teachers and students, Ann Marie answered in , 鈥淧lease listen to and trust the expertise of teachers who have spent their lives being forever learners for the children they teach. Please ask teachers and tap into their expertise first when making decisions about policy, standards, and programs. The world needs to know that teacher and student voices are honest, passionate, experienced voices, and if we are heard and trusted, then we can transform education for the better.鈥�
, a middle school special education teacher from Maine, loves motivating and encouraging her students to read. She said that part of her success in the classroom is finding material that her students are motivated to read and that is appropriate to their reading level. She said for struggling readers, those two things don鈥檛 often come together, so she creates a classroom that is stocked with rich reading material relevant to middle school students and at a level where they can find reading success. 鈥淚 introduce books. I read just pieces of books to get them hooked. I show book trailers to try to get them hooked, and we talk about what they鈥檙e reading,鈥� Jennifer said. 鈥淭he more they understand about what they read, the more they want to read.鈥�
is a journalism teacher at Hazelwood High School in Missouri. He felt it important to attend the vigil after the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson to give his students an eyewitness perspective. Unfortunately, he was caught up in the violence that followed and was injured.聽 For him, it was a .聽 Chris feels that one of he helped initiate three years ago at Hazelwood West. 鈥淲e implemented Project WALK with about 50 freshmen and sophomore students who exhibited multiple characteristics associated with students who drop out,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur preliminary data suggest that we will graduate dozens of students in the spring of 2015 who, based on their previous path, would have likely dropped out without the intervention.鈥�
, an English teacher at Tallmadge High School in Ohio, said, 鈥淚鈥檓 trying to make my students advocate for themselves…If we don鈥檛 start with education, it all falls apart.鈥� The Ohio Department of Education for her 鈥渃an do鈥� attitude and recognized her work with the Tallmadge City Schools Resident Educator Program 鈥渕entoring new teachers, leading several professional development trainings for her fellow educators, and collaborating with Kent State University professors to implement a writing center.鈥�
of Indiana is also a National Teacher of the Year Finalist. Kathy, who is blind, overcame that challenge and inspires her students to do the same with challenges they face in their own lives. Her classroom is vibrant and interactive as she encourages her students to reenact scenes from books they are reading.聽 she expressed her concern about standardized testing and said that time would be better spent on teaching, learning, and relationship-building. She stated, 鈥淎ll the headlines make education seem a daunting and an unhappy place to be. . . . We need to remove the fear from education and replace it with joy.鈥�
, a third-grade teacher in Kentucky, likes to get 鈥済ooey and dirty,鈥� transforming her classroom into a pirate ship because 鈥渨hen you鈥檙e a pirate, you have to go to unknown lands and you have to have the tools and resources to deal with anything that comes in your path.鈥� that Sarah 鈥渃redits the development of professional learning communities and improved professional development over the last several years with helping her succeed.鈥�
, which is named for the Sparks Middle School math teacher killed in October 2013 while trying to talk a 12-year-old shooter into putting his gun down at the northern Nevada school. Seen as a hero by many, Ian created the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program to help at-risk youth attend college. But he credits his fellow teachers for his award: 鈥淚鈥檓 standing in front of you today because of what you did for me鈥ou have transformed me.鈥�
We are incredibly proud of all our teachers and wish to extend congratulations to our members who are 2015 State Teachers of the Year.