Tag Archives: Language Arts Teachers

Ohio community mourns loss of English teacher Shannon Wigfield

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Members of the academic community are mourning the loss of Language Arts teacher Shannon Wigfield, who perished in a horrific school bus accident. Photo credit: LinkedIn

Hearts are heavy in Bolivar, Ohio, this week as the community mourns the loss of English teacher Shannon Wigfield. She perished in a horrific school bus accident on Tues., Nov. 14. The beloved educator taught at Buckeye Career Center in New Philadelphia. She was 46 years old.

The group on the bus was on their way to the Ohio School Board Association Capital Conference at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, where the Tuscarawa Valley High School Band was scheduled to perform. Shannon had agreed to serve as a parent chaperone because one of her three children was a member of the band.

The horrific accident also claimed the lives of three students, Tuscarawa Valley High School mathematics teacher Dave Kennat, and fellow parent chaperone Kristy Gaynor. According to police authorities, the accident occurred when the bus the students were traveling in was hit by a commercial semitrailer traveling in the same direction, resulting in a five-vehicle chain reaction.

The loss of the beloved educator has been very difficult for those who knew her, according to Bob Alsept, Superintendent of Buckeye Career Center. He remembers Shannon as, “A wonderful teacher, but more than what she taught, she really made them feel special about themselves, wouldn’t let them fail, could be hard on them as she needed to be, but also let them know that she cared deeply about their success,” he says. “I never remember seeing her and thinking she was having anything but a great day because she had a smile on her face and just carried herself enthusiastically and you know what? That rubs off on students, they are drawn to that,” Alsept continued.

Shannon was born on May 10, 1977, in Dennison, Ohio. She graduated from Claymont High School in Uhrichsville, Ohio, in 1995. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education from Ohio University in 2000. Her career as an educator spanned 24 years.

Our sincerest condolences to Shannon’s family, friends, and colleagues.

Christina Melly named Missouri’s 2023 Teacher of the Year

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High school English teacher Christina Melly of St. Louis, Missouri, has been named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Christina Melly

It is always my pleasure to share the story of an exceptional educator who has earned recognition for their work in the classroom. One of these is Christina Melly, an English teacher from St. Louis, Missouri. She has been named the 2023 Missouri State Teacher of the Year.

Christina teaches at Ritenour High School, where she haas worked for 13 years. The school just happens to be her high school alma mater. She has also coached her school’s speech and debate team, served as the Chair of the English Department, and , And as if all that were not enough, she is also a Gateway Writing Program teacher-consultant.

In addition, Christina is active in her local teachers’ union. She has served as the President of the Ritenour National Education Association. There she holds the position of the Missouri Resolutions Committee. Recently she was elected to a fourth term as a delegate on the National Resolutions Committee.

As a first-generation American, Christina understands the value of using writing to amplify her students’ voices, including publishing their experiences with writing through the National Council of Teachers of English’s English Journal. “I am the best teacher on the days I learn from students,” Christina declares. “It takes a lot of practice and courage to reach those days, but the lessons that define me as a teacher have student choice, voice, and experiences at the center; this creates shared ownership of our learning,” she continues.

Christina earned a Bachelor’s degree in English and a second Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education at the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2010. She earned her Master’s degree in English and a graduate certificate in the teaching of writing from the same university in 2015.

To read more about Christina Melly, click on this link to an article published about her by UMSL Daily.

 

CA educator Efrain Tovar uses “translanguaging” strategies in his Newcomers class

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Many outstanding educators are working diligently to help recent immigrants to the United States learn how to function fluently in the English language. But some of the best are those that encourage these students to simultaneously develop their proficiency in their native languages. One of these is Efrain Tovar, an English as a Second Language teacher at Abraham Lincoln Middle School in Selma, located in Fresno County in California.

Efrain creates a vibrant classroom community for “newcomers,” the moniker given to recently-arrived immigrant students who have limited proficiency in English. In his class, students come from a wide range of countries, including Mexico, Yemen, India, Egypt, Guatemala, and others. Efrain uses this ethnic diversity not only to create a safe and welcoming space for learning, but also to further develop and personalize each student’s English language learning curriculum.

Efrain is an advocate for Ann instructional process known as “translanguaging,” the practice of encouraging the student to use their existing linguistic backgrounds and heritages to master new academic content and, ultimately, to be able to move fluently between two or more languages. Studies have shown that when English language learners are given consistent opportunities to practice their home languages in class, their English proficiency flourishes—along with their sense of belonging and identity. “The goal is to be bilingual and bi-literate so that you’ll not only be a contributing citizen, but also be a bridge maker when you speak multiple languages with multiple communities,” explains Efrain.

You can watch this amazing educator at work and hear what his student have to say about him, in the video above. To learn more about studies in translanguaging, you can read this article detailing an explore 2011 study about English language learners and academic achievement. You can also access this article published in 2023 by EdSource which describes why bilingual students do better on tests than native English speakers.

Georgia teacher Susan Allgood garners VFW Citizenship Education Award

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Middle school English teacher Susan Allgood of Toccoa, Georgia, has garnered a 2023 Smart Maher National citizenship Education Teacher Award from the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Photo credit: Veterans of Foreign Wars

As role models for young people, teachers often emphasize the qualities of patriotism and good citizenship in their young students. One teacher who does this exceptionally well is Susan Allgood, a middle school teacher from Toccoa, Georgia. She has been recognized by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) for her excellence in efforts to ensure  her students understand duty to country while honoring the service and memory of America’s veterans. The organization has honored her with a 2023 Smart Maher National Citizenship Education Teacher Award.

Susan teaches seventh and eighth grade English/Language Arts at Stephens County Middle School in Toccoa. She was selected for the honor because she encouraged not only the students in her classroom, but also every student on her campus to participate in the VFW’s annual Patriot’s Pen essay contest. To inspire the young authors, she shared novels and biographies about veterans, the military, and our nation’s history into her curriculum.

In addition to sharing the stories of veterans and promoting the essay contest, the honored teacher organized field trips to New York City to visit the memorial built at Ground Zero. She teaches lessons about the devastation and aftermath of Sept. 11. And she encourages her students to recognize that they can make a difference in the world around them.

It makes perfect sense that Susan would emphasize the role of veterans in her curriculum. She has two sons who are on active duty in the military. Because of this, she understands firsthand how important it is to connect the military and veterans with young people.

To learn more about Susan Allgood and the prestigious award she has won, click on the following link to the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

 

Craig Rowe named a finalist for CA State 2023 Teacher of the Year

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High school English teacher Craig Rowe of Truckee, California, has been named one of his state’s finalists for 2023 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Truckee High School

Many exceptional educators have been recognized for their work in the classroom this year. One of these is Craig Rowe, a high school English teacher from Placer County, California. He has been named one of nine finalists for California’s 2023 Teacher of the Year.

Craig teaches at Truckee High School in the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District. He also serves as the Model United Nations Advisor for his school. The honored educator says he is passionate about diversity students having an equal chance to attend the college of their dreams. To facilitate this, he formed La Fuerza Latina, a small college prep admissions program for his Truckee High students. The goal of the program is to raise the collegiate bar for students from multi-ethnic backgrounds, and to provide the kind of high-caliber admissions preparation paid consultants provide. In this way, Craig says, diversity students have the opportunity to compete at the highest level nationally, to earn scholarships, and to reach their potential.

Craig has his own childhood experiences to thank for his passion to help disadvantaged students. As a young man, he says, he never saw himself becoming a teacher. The son of a Hispanic mother and a White father, neither of whom attended college, Craig remembers school as a place fraught with racial tension and frequent fights. As a young man, he recalls fellow students speaking negatively about his ethnic heritage, which caused him a great deal of shame and anger. “This was before multiculturalism was a thing,” Craig remembers. “School was definitely not a respite.”

Despite his inauspicious performance in high school academics, Craig went on to earn his Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Washington. He earned his Master’s degree in Dramatic Literature from the University of California, Santa Barbara. And he completed the requirements for his Ph.D. in Performance Studies from University of California, Berkeley. While there, he garnered a Regents Fellowship. In addition, Craig worked in a Chicana writing program at Stanford University.

“I want every student to know that regardless of their social or ethnic status, if they are hard-working and diligent, they can compete at the very highest level nationally,” asserts Craig. “My intent is simply to supplement our outstanding counseling support system, so our students have equal advantages for being placed in highly competitive colleges and universities as well as earn scholarships,” he concludes.