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myregion.org is. . . |
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An organization of citizens and leaders from public, private and institutional sectors who have launched a program to prepare the Central Florida Region to compete more effectively in the 21st century while enhancing the quality of life of its citizenry. | |
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October 4, 2007
PRISM Recognizes Outstanding Teachers
Twenty four outstanding science teachers representing elementary, middle and high schools throughout the eight-county Central Florida region were recently honored by The PRISM Project – an organization comprised of Central Florida business, government, and school leaders working to promote improvement in science and math throughout the region. The first annual Teacher Awards Banquet hosted by SeaWorld’s Ports of Call focused specifically on the critical importance of science education for children today.
Following dinner, a dynamic presentation was made by Steve Spangler, who might be best known via the Internet as the Mentos Guy, helping to turn the Mentos Experiment of dropping the mint candies into soda pop into a pop culture phenomenon. His presentation was as effervescent as his experiments. Perfectly blending his energy, humor, scientific demonstrations and education references to Rubrics, standardized testing and his favorite kindergarten teacher, Spangler had these “cream of the crop” teachers, their principals, superintendents and other guests in the palm of his hand.
With five of the eight Central Florida school superintendents in the audience lending a superlative vote of confidence, the region’s outstanding science teachers, who have exhibited excellence in science instruction and who have contributed to improving science education within their respective school districts, were the stars of the show. Each was presented with a $500 unrestricted cash award to continue their creative work with the students in their charge. Three teachers were nominated by each of the eight school districts and are listed here in alphabetical order:
| Christy Aycock |
Boone Middle |
Polk County |
| Julie Ball |
Coleman Middle |
Hillsborough County |
| Catharine Colwell |
Mainland High |
Volusia County |
| Roxana Crosby |
Windy Hill Middle |
Lake County |
| Richard Ellenburg |
Camelot Elementary |
Orange County |
| Brian Innes |
Galaxy Middle |
Volusia County |
| Kelly Jay |
Newsom High |
Hillsborough County |
| Yvonne Kochensparger |
Gateway High |
Osceola County |
| Susan Leeds |
Howard Middle |
Orange County |
| Sue Lourcey |
Central Avenue Elementary |
Osceola County |
| Randy Milford |
Umatilla High |
Lake County |
| Alina Mills |
Jefferson High |
Hillsborough County |
| Raul Montes |
Cocoa High |
Brevard County |
| Kathleen Moreno |
Jackson Heights Middle |
Seminole County |
| Wendy Norton |
Bellalago Academy |
Osceola County |
| Cheryl Pierce |
Lakeland Senior High |
Polk County |
| Joshua Platt |
Spruce Creek High |
Volusia County |
| Nancy Rehwoldt |
Surfside Elementary |
Brevard County |
| Cynthia Rosenthal |
Tavares Elementary |
Lake County |
| Lucy Smith |
Lake Gibson Middle |
Polk County |
| Guytri Still |
McNair Magnet Middle |
Brevard County |
| Mary Timmerman |
Sterling Park Elementary |
Seminole County |
| Betty Vail |
Olympia High |
Orange County |
| William Yucuis |
Lyman High |
Seminole County |
Selection Committee Chair, Steve Brown, President of DeVry University, Central Florida, thanked his team for their hours of dedicated service in reviewing extensive portfolios of the 24 teachers nominated by their respective school districts in order to select the top three for additional rewards and recognition. The Committee included Dr. Steve Dutczak, NASA Education Services; Dr. Bob Keefer, Lake Sumter Community College; Dusty Maddox, DeVry University; Rob Moore, EA Sports; and Nirmala Ramlakhan, Workforce Central Florida.
“It was my pleasure to be chosen to represent Workforce Central Florida as a reader for the PRISM Science Teachers Recognition,” said Nirmala Ramlakhan. “The portfolios presented were very comprehensive and by weight totaled to more than 20 lbs of reading.” She also said she was excited reviewing the portfolios that gave insight into “the applicants’ zeal for teaching science, and the out of the box ideas utilized.” For her, the experience confirmed that “these excellent teachers were molding a solid, well versed and dynamic future workforce for Central Florida.”
The nominees ranged in age, years of teaching experience and grade levels taught. There were physics teachers, Gifted Student teachers, elementary school teachers who are the Jacks-of-all-Trades, career changers that fell into teaching and the list goes on. “These teachers were not just concerned about test averages or school grades, they were concerned with student achievement and enrichment,” Ramlakhan added.
Each portfolio included resumes, letters of recommendations, samples of student work, lesson plans, examples of club or enrichment activities they sponsored and anything else that could paint a picture of how learning occurred in their classroom. The applicants were judged on their use of inquiry science, classroom management techniques, use of technology in the classroom and their ability to ensure that their teaching was relevant to students.
Selected to receive an additional $2,000 cash award and a $2,500 voucher to be used for activities related to their professional development and work with students were:
| Richard Ellenburg |
Camelot Elementary |
Orange County |
| Nancy Rehwoldt |
Surfside Elementary |
Brevard County |
| Guytri Still |
McNair Magnet Middle |
Brevard |
In return, all teachers will be sharing their “best practices” with other teachers through PRISM sponsored seminars and workshops. Richard Ellenburg is already doing that. As Orange County’s Teacher of the Year, he was recently selected as the Florida Teacher of the Year and is traveling across the state sharing and learning as he represents all Florida teachers for the Florida Department of Education.
“This was GREAT fun, and personally rewarding. In fact, I am going to show some of my findings to our chemistry staff and suggest they incorporate some of what I observed in the middle school applicant's portfolios,” says Dr. Bob Keefer, a member of the 2007 PRISM Selection Committee. “The PRISM recognition is an excellent thing to do that bodes well for Central Florida’s future. I think it is going produce a significant change in how science is taught if we use the outcomes – the portfolios and nominees - well.” Dr. Keefer is Physics Professor and Science Department Chair at Lake Sumter Community College.
The event and recognition would not have been possible without its Corporate Sponsors: Bank of America, DeVry University, Florida High Tech Corridor, JHT Incorporated, Orange County Government, SAIC, Sea World Adventure Park, Tampa Bay Technology Forum (TBTF), Tupperware Brands Corporation, WKMG Local 6, and Workforce Central Florida.
Founded in 2005 as a response to the myregion.org priority to improve education in the region, The PRISM Project strives to enhance the caliber of education in Central Florida. Identifying and recognizing outstanding teachers and having them share best practices is one way to achieve that goal, according to Mike Miller, PRISM Board President and Senior Vice President/Relationship Manager for Mercantile Bank.
“As one of eight regional strategic priorities for the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce,” added Jacob V. Stuart, President of the Chamber and myregion.org, “We congratulate all those who worked so hard to make this important recognition happen – and most especially, we congratulate these outstanding teachers and the thousands of others who have devoted their lives and resources to educating all of the children in the Central Florida region.”
“The Central Florida School Boards Coalition and PRISM are proud of our partnership,” said Dr. Jim Schott, President of The PRISM Project. “Our regional approach to address critical areas of educational need is an outstanding model of collaboration designed to assist school districts in Central Florida to become the nation’s leaders in pre-K to 12 math and science education.”
PRISM Chair, Mike Miller, noted that of the nearly 200 in attendance, all eight districts were represented at the dinner by top-level administrators and school board members. The principals of all winners were also in attendance. He said, “It was a great beginning to a year of projects designed to celebrate the achievement of our school districts and to support their efforts to improve.”
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Founded in 2005, The PRISM Project (standing for promoting regional improvement in science and math) is an organization comprised of community partners, which strives to engage the business, civic and educational communities throughout Central Florida to enhance K-12 science and math education. For more information on PRISM or how you can contribute, please visit www.theprismproject.org or call (407) 478-1508.
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