Category Archives: Education

Oregon teacher Lucas Dix garners OnPoint Excellence in Education Award

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Educator Lucas Dix, who teaches Media Arts and Journalism at Rowe Middle School in Milwaukie, Oregon, has garnered an OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education award. Photo credit: Kenosha.com

It is always a pleasure for me to share the story of an outstanding teacher who has earned recognition with their work with young people. One of these is Lucas Dix, a high school Media Arts and Journalism teacher at Rowe Middle School located in Milwaukie, Oregon. Lucas has garnered an OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education award.

Interestingly, Lucas is originally a native of Kenosha, Wisconsin, not Oregon. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Education with an emphasis in English from the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse. After graduating from college, he relocated to Oregon where his brother also lives.

Lucas teaches students in grades six through eight. One of the courses he instructs is called the Shamrock News. In this class, students create a 20-minute YouTube video each week which covers topics relevant to young people, including  social-emotional development and grammar. “It has just all the information of what’s happening inside the school and inside the community,” Lucas explains. At the end of last year, the students completed the production’s 300th episode, and this year, the show is in its tenth year in production.

Lucas has taught at Rowe full-time since 2012, and prior to that he worked there as a substitute. In addition to the courses he instructs, Lucas also coaches Junior Varsity basketball at the high school level, and cross country and track and field at the local middle school and high school.

Lucas is one of four teachers in Oregon who have been recognized with an OnPoint award. The other three recipients were Caryn Anderson of Portland; Willie Williams of Portland; and Samuel Platt of Bend. As part of the award, all four honored teachers will have their rent or mortgage paid for an entire year. In addition, each teacher’s school will receive a $2,500 donation. To learn more about the OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education, visit OnPointcu.com.

Georgia’s Vanessa Ellis: Outstanding Social Studies teacher

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Middle school teacher Vanessa Ellis of Georgia is an outstanding educator. Photo credit: All On Georgia

I always enjoy sharing the story of an outstanding educator. Today, I am sharing the story of Vanessa Ellis, a middle school Social Studies teacher and Department Chair from Covington, Georgia.

Vanessa teaches at Veterans Memorial Middle School in Covington. She instructs courses in World Studies to seventh graders and Georgia Studies to eighth graders. The World Studies course includes geography, history, economics, and government of Africa and Asia. The Georgia Studies course includes geography, history, economics, and government of the state of Georgia. She also teaches her students a unit on personal money management choices with regards to income, spending, credit, saving, and investing. “This is a great way to introduce students to future financial responsibility,” Vanessa asserts.

This Chalkboard Champion says that becoming a teacher has always been her passion. “Someone once told me that the measure of a true educator is the impact that they have on students,” Vanessa says. “Years from now, I would hope that my students would say, first and foremost, that I loved them. That I honored their humanity—that even though they were kids, I treated them with kindness, dignity, and respect,” she continues. “I would also hope that they would say I believed in them—that I showed up for them, and I cared for them, not only as students, but as individuals. I challenge them and I push them to discover their capacity to learn is far greater than they ever can imagine,” she concludes.

For her work in the classroom, Vanessa has earned many accolades. In 2022, she was named the Muscogee County Teacher of the Year. In 2021, she garnered a competition for having the best Canvas course for students in Muscogee County. In 2018, she was named a Harvard Fellow and studied researched-based practices for a week at Project Zero Classroom. And in 2017, she was honored as Georgia Economics Teacher of the Year by the Georgia Council on Economic Education.

Vanessa was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and raised in both Sarasota, Florida, and Columbus, Georgia. Vanessa earned her Bachelor’s degree in History and Secondary Education in 2011 and her Master’s degree in Secondary Social Sciences in 2019, both from Columbus State University.

 

MI educator Matthew Vriesman honored as 2023 History Teacher of the Year

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Congratulations are due to Matthew Vriesman, a high school History teacher from Michigan. He has been honored by The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History as their 2023 National History Teacher of the Year.

Matthew teaches at East Kentwood High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There he instructs courses in AP (Advanced Placement) United States History, AP African American Studies, and AP World History. He also serves as the Model United Nations Director on his campus.

In naming Matthew as their winner, the selection committee specifically cited his exceptional ability to tell the story of American history within the context of his very diverse local community. His efforts include working with the Grand Rapids Museum to tell the story of the Great Migration through the experiences of Black migrants to the city of Grand Rapids. They were also impressed by Matthew’s lead in having his students use historical archives and primary source documents to build a historic virtual tour of western Michigan.

Lindsay Kimbrough, Assistant Principal at East Kentwood High, cannot heap enough praise on the outstanding educator. “While Mr. Vriesman’s knowledge of content is superior, he can forge relationships with all students that truly mold their passion for learning and understanding history. His passion for the students and his dedication to making content relevant for all students sets him apart,” Kimbrough asserts.

Now in its 20th year, the National History Teacher of the Year Award highlights the crucial importance of history education by honoring exceptional American history teachers at the elementary and high school levels. The annual award honors one K–12 teacher from each state, the District of Columbia, Department of Defense schools, and US territories and names one of the state winners the National History Teacher of the Year. As part of his recognition, Matthew received a check for $10,000.

TN teacher Melissa Shirk teaches elem students about agriculture

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Elementary school teacher Melissa Shirk has been named the recipient of an Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture award. Photo credit: Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation

Those of us who live in an urban environment sometimes forget that many educators work in rural environments, and they are Chalkboard Champions deserving of recognition, too. One of these is Melissa Shirk, an elementary school teacher from Tennessee who has been named the recipient of an Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture award from the American Farm Bureau Foundation.

The award is given annual to an educator in grades K-12 who has demonstrated involvement in agricultural literacy. Each recipient receives a $1,500 scholarship to attend the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference in June.

“Many of my students are surrounded by dairy farms, crop farms, and beef and pork producers,” explains Melissa. “I want to continue my knowledge of agriculture and provide my students with current resourceful information and activities to promote the science, engineering, technology, and mathematics of all agricultural areas through Ag in the Classroom,” she declares.

Melissa teaches at Loudon Elementary in the rural farming community of Philadelphia in east Tennessee.

Today’s Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation has a membership of more than 679,000 family members and is the largest state Farm Bureau in the nation.

 

Alaska names Catherine Walker as the 2024 State Teacher of the Year

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Science teacher Catherine Walker of Anchorage, Alaska, has been named her state’s 2024 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Anchorage School District

Our nation’s students are fortunate to have such dedicated and capable teachers in the classroom. One of these is high school science and career technology educator Catherine Walker of Anchorage, Alaska. She has been named the 2024 Teacher of the Year for her state.

Catherine teaches oceanography, marine biology, unmanned aviation science, and Project Lead the Way engineering essentials to students in grades nine through 12 at Dimond High School in Anchorage. She has taught there since 2006. In addition to instructing her courses, she also sponsors the Battle of the Books, the Gender Sexuality Alliance, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ocean Guardian, and the National Ocean Science Bowl clubs. And as if all that were not enough, she also teaches courses for educators new to science at Prince William Sound College.

Alaska is not the only place where Catherine put her knowledge of the environment into practice. She also served in the Peace Corps in Mali from 2002-2004 as a Natural Resource Management Volunteer.

Catherine earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. She earned her Master’s degree in Teaching from the University of Alaska, Anchorage. In addition, she completed the Semester in Environmental Science at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. In 2019, she earned her National Geographic Educator Certification and attended the National Geographic Education Summit in Washington, DC. Furthermore, she is a 2023 Earthwatch Project Kindle Fellow and a 2023 Lindblad National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellow. 

Her selection as Alaska’s Teacher of the Year is not the only recognition Catherine has received. In 2023, she was honored with the Alaska Marine Science Outreach Award, the National Science Teaching Association’s Shell Science Teaching Award, and the Alaska Oil and Gas Association Teacher Grant. In 2015, she garnered a Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching (PAEMST). She has also won the Eleanor B. Schick Award for Environmental Excellence from Brandeis University. Furthermore, she is a member of the Pacific Ocean Educators Network and a board member for the Alaska Society for Technology in Education.