Awards and Accolades

Date: May 2009

Read about the special awards won and notable books written by writing project teachers.

Arkansas

Great Bear Writing Project

Patricia Oeste, 2002 fellow, has been named a Distinguished Music Educator by Yale University. This award includes an invitation to a special symposium on music education at Yale in summer 2009. Oeste teaches music at Ruth Doyle Intermediate School in Conway.

California

Bay Area Writing Project

Patsy Lockhart, 1984 fellow, was named 2009 Unsung Hero in Union City in the area of African American Youth and the Teaching of Writing, as posted in the calendar created by Union City's 50th Anniversary Committee. Lockhart teaches English / Language Arts / U.S. History Core and Journalism at Cesar Chavez Middle School in Union City.

Delaware

Delaware Writing Project

Patti Masten, 2007 fellow, achieved National Board Recertification in Adolescent Young Adults. Masten teaches English at Milford High School in Milford, where she has taught for 32 years.

Nicole LaMonaca, 2007 fellow, has been selected to present at the 2009 Annual Convention of the National Council of Teachers of English in Philadelphia. Her presentation will focus on how to adapt common reading strategies to help students become critical readers of their own writing and improve their revision techniques. LaMonaca currently teaches English at Howard High School of Technology in Wilmington.

New York

Western New York Writing Project

Nancy Light, 1992 fellow, had her essay "Peace on Earth Begins In Our Homes" published in the My View column of the Buffalo News, December 19, 2008. Light, now retired, taught English at Clarence High School in Clarence.

Jill Morgan, 2006 fellow, published a personal essay titled "Jim Kelly's Good Side" in Artvoice, February 10, 2009. Morgan teaches English, grades 9–12, at Lakeshore High School in Lakeshore.

Tom O'Malley, 1986 fellow, published a personal essay titled "There Is an Upside to Every Downturn" in the My View column of the Buffalo News, February 8, 2009. O'Malley teaches English, grades 9–12, at St. Francis High School in Athol Springs.

Jessica Wagner, 2006 fellow, had her essay "The Spirit of Giving Is Shared Year Round" published in the My View column of the Buffalo News, April 16, 2009. Wagner teaches first grade at Maple West Elementary School in the Williamsville School District.

Ohio

National Writing Project at Kent State University

Sue Kepler, 2007 fellow, received the Outstanding English Language Arts Educator Award for the high school category, presented by the Ohio Council of English Language Arts (OCTELA) at their 2009 Spring Conference, March 27–28. Kepler teaches 11th and 12th grade English to the vocational-education students at Kent Roosevelt High School in Kent.

Janie Reinart, 1998 fellow, is co-author, with Mary Anne Mayer, of a book soon to be released: Love You More Than You Know: Mothers' Stories About Sending Their Sons and Daughters to War (Gray & Company Publishers, 2009). A portion of the proceeds from the book are going to the Bob Woodruff Foundation and the Semper Fi Injured Marine Fund. Reinart is a visiting teacher who teaches poetry writing to students in grades 2–5 at St. Thomas Aquinas Elementary School in Cleveland. Her book contains a writing component that invites readers to share their stories, gives writing tips, and provides a blog where they can post their stories.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State University Writing Project

Dewayne Dickens, 2004 fellow, placed among the top three presenters for the March 2009 Oklahoma Association for Community Colleges G.I.F.T. program. The Great Ideas for Teaching competition recognizes innovative strategies implemented in today's classroom. Dickens' presentation, for which he also received a cash award, was on using foldable graphic organizers at the college level in multidisciplinary writing. Dickens is an assistant professor of English at Tulsa Community College.

Pennsylvania

Capital Area Writng Project

Susan Van Zile, 2004 fellow, and Mary Napoli, 1994 fellow (Lehigh Valley Writing Project), have published a professional resource book for teachers titled Teaching Literary Elements with Picture Books: Engaging, Standards-Based Lessons and Strategies (Scholastic Teaching Resources, 2009). The book has many children's literature selections to help weave a focus on literary elements into the teaching of writing. Van Zile teaches sixth grade in the Mechanicsburg School District, Mechanicsburg, where she has been teaching for more than 24 years. Napoli, a former kindergarten and first grade teacher, is currently an assistant professor of reading and children's literature at Penn State Harrisburg in Middletown.

Pennsylvania Writing and Literature Project

Lynne Dorfman, 1989 fellow, and Rose Cappelli, 1996 fellow, published Nonfiction Mentor Texts: Teaching Informational Writing Through Children's Literature, K–8 (Stenhouse, 2009). This is the companion volume to their first book, Mentor Texts: Teaching Writing Through Children's Literature, K–6 , published by Stenhouse in 2007. Both volumes grew out of a course Dorfman and Cappelli have taught for PAWLP for the past ten years, "Writing and Children's Literature." Dorfman is a literacy coach and literacy framework coordinator, grades 3–5, in the Upper Moreland Intermediate School in Willow Grove. Cappelli is a reading specialist, K–2, at Fern Hill Elementary School in West Chester.

Texas

Pearl of the Concho Writing Project

Audrey Brynn Rich, 2008 fellow, was named Outstanding Graduate Student from the College of Education for the 2008–2009 academic year by Angelo State University, San Angelo. She also presented a session at the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts in January with two other teacher-consultants, F. Michael Cavitt, 2008 fellow, and Shelly Bird, 2007 fellow. Rich teaches first grade at Kelley Elementary in Colorado City; Cavitt teaches fifth grade, and Bird teaches third and fourth grade reading, at Alta Loma Elementary School in San Angelo. All three of them are graduating this May with master's degrees as reading specialists from Angelo State University.

Virginia

Appalachian Writing Project

Rebecca Elswick, 2006 fellow, is publishing her story "Adopted" in the forthcoming book A Cup of Comfort for Dog Lovers II: More stories that celebrate the boundless energy, love, and devotion of our canine companions (edited by Colleen Sell; Adams Media Publications, 2009). Elswick teaches English at Grundy High School in Grundy.

Central Virginia Writing Project

Mary R. Bailey, 2007 fellow, published Vhan Zeely and the Time Prevaricators (Eloquent Books, 2009), a novel geared for upper elementary through eighth grade students. Bailey, who has taught for 12 years and currently teaches English at Rustburg High School in Rustburg, was also recently inducted into Delta Kappa Gamma, a society of key women educators.

West Virginia

Central West Virginia Writing Project

Carol Mathis, 2004 fellow, received the 2009 Arch Coal Teacher Achievement Award for excellence in teaching, which includes a $3,500 unrestricted cash prize. Mathis, who teaches science at Hayes Middle School in St. Albans, says she finds that problem-based learning is one of the most effective learning methods, because "it is real-world and relevant, and it reaches auditory, kinesthetic and visual learners."