Category Archives: Education
Ellen Degeneres recognizes North Carolina teacher Jordan Siragusa
This video which shows Ellen Degeneres recognizing the stellar work of North Carolina first grade teacher Jordan Siragusa says it all. (January 18, 2018)
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Educator Ben Walker named Alaska’s 2018 Teacher of the Year
Outstanding educator Ben Walker of the Anchorage School District named Alaska’s 2018 State Teacher of the Year.
Ben Walker of Anchorage has been named Alaska’s 2018 State Teacher of the Year. Ben teaches science at Romig Middle School in the same classroom where his mother, Karen Walker, also taught school.
Ben is originally from Ketchikan. His family moved to Anchorage, where Ben graduated from Dimond High School in 1996. The honored educator earned his Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. Following his college graduation, he moved back to Anchorage where he worked in the science industry for ten years. Then he decided become a teacher. “I wanted to do something that was a little more meaningful in my life,” Ben confessed. He enrolled at the University of Alaska, Anchorage, where he earned his Master’s degree in Teaching. His teaching career now spans 13 years.
Ben reveals that he works toward making science exciting, integrating hands-on activities into his daily lessons. For example, his students recently collected water from around the city. Then the students examined the samples under a microscope to find various microorganisms and classify them into different kingdoms. “Instead of just saying, ‘This is taxonomy. This is how we classify things,’ ” Ben explained, “we say, ‘Let’s get some real things, let’s bring them in and classify them.’ “
Congratulations, Ben Walker.
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New Hampshire’s 2018 State Teacher of Year Heidi Crumrine
Outstanding educator Heidi Crumrine of Concord High School recognized as new Hampshire’s 2018 Teacher of the Year.
Outstanding educator Heidi Crumrine of Concord High School has been recognized as New Hampshire’s 2018 Teacher of the Year.
Heidi was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was raised in New Hampshire. She is a graduate of Concord High School,where she now teaches.
This exemplary educator earned her degree in English Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and her Master’s degree of Education with an emphasis in Teaching Reading from Grand Canyon University. In a career as an English teacher that spans 16 years, Heidi has devoted 13 of them to her alma mater, Concord High School. In addition to her classroom responsibilities, Heidi coaches field hockey at nearby Rundlett Middle School.
“Every day I enter the classroom with a focus on what is important: the young people in front of me who are our best hope for our future,” remarks Heidi. “To spark a love of reading for a young person is to set in motion a pathway for success that will follow her wherever she goes,” she says.
Concord’s principal Mr. Tom Sica can’t praise Heidi enough. “Heidi has invested herself in creating an environment in which students are known and valued. Her knowledge of curriculum and of student learners are key elements which help to explain why her students thrive and succeed,” Sica asserts. “Consistently, she works to develop and implement lessons that engage students and challenge them to think critically,” he concludes.
Congratulations, Chalkboard Champion Heidi Crumrine.
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Elizabeth Duncan Koontz: Gifted teacher and talented political advocate
Gifted teacher Elizabeth Duncan Koontz made her mark in the political landscape.
There are many examples of talented educators who have also made important contributions to our country’s political landscape. This is the case with Elizabeth Duncan Koontz, a special education teacher from North Carolina.
Elizabeth Duncan was born June 3, 1919, Salisbury, North Carolina, the daughter of two educators. She was the youngest of their seven children. Elizabeth was only four years old when she was enrolled in elementary school, but she had already mastered the ability to read and write. Young Elizabeth excelled as an elementary school student, even helping her mother with the lessons of illiterate adult learners that her mother was tutoring in reading. ”I knew then that teaching was for me,” she related years later.
In 1935, Elizabeth graduated as the salutatorian from Salisbury’s segregated Price High School. Three years later, in 1938, she graduated from Livingstone College with a Bachelor’s degree in English and Elementary Education. In 1941, she earned her Master’s degree from Atlanta University. She also completed courses from Columbia University, North Carolina College, and the University of Indiana.
Elizabeth inaugurated her career as an educator when she accepted a position as a fourth grade teacher in North Carolina. Particularly interested in helping children with disabilities, she became a special education teacher at Price High School in Salisbury, North Carolina. She spent her entire career championing equal rights and better opportunities for African Americans, women, and the working poor. In 1968, this dedicated educator became the first African American president of the National Education Association.
In 1969, President Richard Nixon appointed her to be an adviser to the US Secretary of Labor. She also served as the director of the Women’s Bureau. At the end of President Nixon’s first term, Elizabeth returned to North Carolina to coordinate the nutrition programs for the Department of Human Resources. From 1975 until her retirement in 1982, she served as Assistant State Schools Superintendent.
Elizabeth’s many contributions did not go unnoticed. She was given the North Carolina Award for Public Service in 1977, and in 2006, Elizabeth Duncan Elementary School in Salisbury was named in her honor.
