Eight WCASD Teachers Win “Educator 500” Award
On Thursday, April 17th, the sixth annual Business and Education Leadership Forum was held at the Union League in Philadelphia, PA. A total of eight teachers from the West Chester Area School District received a select award known as the “Educator 500”, bestowed upon educators from all around the tri-state area during a program honoring educational excellence and entrepreneurship. We proudly congratulate our award-winning teachers and detail the projects which propelled them to gain such special recognition.
The Educator 500 winners for 2008 from the WCASD are: Barbara Hannan; Kathleen HalliganKoberg; Karen Lande; Catherine Logothetis; Christine Miller; Johanna Molina; Scott Sneddon; and Patti Whitehead. In addition, two WCASD teachers were recognized with Incubator Seed Grants: Susan Farrelly; and David Kelly.
Kathleen Halligan Koberg and Patti Whitehead / Exton Elementary School: Through Biz World, a project-based program, their students formed bracelet companies responsible for marketing, advertising, and production of specialty woven bracelets, with all proceeds going towards the Maria Whitehead Awareness Campaign in support of melanoma awareness.
Karen Lande / Exton Elementary School: Karen showcases Community Readers Day during which community members come in and read to students. The program has allowed for relationships to grow with the likes of Barnes and Noble, Commerce Bank, and West Chester University just to name a few.
Catherine Logothetis / WC B. Reed Henderson High School: Culinary Arts became Catherine’s focus in partnership with The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College and US Foods among others. Students in the Culinary Arts class prepare meals while evaluating costs, marketing strategies required in the restaurant business, and conducting marketing research as a way to measure their success with their faculty customers.
Johanna Molina and Christine Miller / Fern Hill Elementary School: This team focused on a Career Club which began as a pilot program earlier this year. After researching various careers of interest, students work in pairs to develop presentations to share with classmates, thereby exposing many others to the possibilities included in a wide variety of careers.
Scott Sneddon / WC B. Reed Henderson High School: T-shirt Design was Scott’s pathway to recognition in combining art and business. While still focused on designing t-shirts in support of specific charitable causes, a 5K run called ‘Dash for Diabetes’ and a bike race called ‘The Chester County Challenge for Cancer’, the program has expanded to include more family members and caring participants every year.
Barbara Hannan / Westtown Thornbury Elementary School: Working in concert with a partner from the Chichester School District, Barbara introduced students to Indian Pop-up Books. She developed personalized pop-up books for her third-graders which was followed by a research project to continue the learning process. Students learned about history and computers while sharing experiences and teamwork in creating and proof-reading the unique pop-up books.
Susan Farrelly and David Kelly / Incubator Seed Grants are bestowed on teachers who have become Educator 500s and/or complete a 3E Summer Institutes program. The grants range from $250 to $2,000 each and are intended to help start, expand, or replicate best practice learning projects. Past grants have been applied to the areas of robotics, cultural diversity, local history, schoolyard habitat and biographies.
We of the West Chester Area School District congratulate, and are very proud of, all our teacher recipients.
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