Blue Ridge PBS - McGlothlin Awards for Teaching Excellence

	The McGlothlin Awards for Teaching Excellence
	Announcing the 2008 Winners!

Top prizes in the 2008 McGlothlin Awards for Teaching Excellence, including $25,000 checks, were presented April 17 to Tamatha Farrell of Burlington Elementary School in Roanoke County, Va., and Tracy Easterling of Vance Middle School in Bristol, Tenn.

Radford University hosted the awards ceremony, held in the Bondurant Auditorium. It served as the culmination of the McGlothlin Celebration of Teaching, an afternoon of activities honoring all teachers in the region.

"These events really make for a grand salute to our teachers in the region," said James Baum, Blue Ridge PBS President and CEO. "Congratulations to the McGlothlin Award winners and thank you to all the teachers in our communities."

Blue Ridge PBS coordinates the annual McGlothlin Awards, now in its ninth year. The McGlothlin Foundation of Bristol, Va. established the award to recognize exceptional educators from the region. Among the largest teaching prizes in the United States, the McGlothlin Awards are available only to public school teachers in selected portions of Virginia, Tennessee, West Virginia and Kentucky. Two teachers, one from grades K-5 and one from grades 6-12, are awarded $25,000 each, with the stipulation that $10,000 be used for international travel to broaden the thinking and experience of the winning teachers, and to further enhance their excellence as professional educators.

The 2008 Winners

Tamatha Farrell

Tracy Easterling

Tamatha Farrell
Burlington Elementary School
Roanoke County Public Schools

Tracy Easterling
Vance Middle School
Bristol City Public Schools (Tenn.)

Farrell, a fifth grade teacher, specializes in using differentiated instruction to connect with students with varying background knowledge, readiness, language, interests and learning preferences. She plans to use the award money to travel to England to follow in the steps of Roald Dahl, her favorite children's author.

Easterling, a seventh grade math teacher, impressed McGlothlin Award judges with her ability to create learning opportunities for her students to see how much they will use math in everyday situations. She wants to use the award money to visit Bulgaria, Greece, Italy and England.

Farrell, Easterling and the other McGlothlin Award applicants are judged by a distinguished group of regional college faculty, educational division administrators and other professionals who volunteer their time and expertise. Criteria include a teacher's ability to promote a high level of student achievement, to "bring the world to the classroom" through the travel component, and to inspire the desire to learn in students, other educators and the community.

Four McGlothlin finalists were each presented with a trophy and a check for $1,000.

Finalists for grades K-5	Finalists for grades 6-12
Michele Quesenberry, Colonial Elementary School, Botetourt County Public Schools, Va. Dawn Toole, Patrick Henry Elementary School, Martinsville City Public Schools, Va.	Susan Montgomery, The Gereau Center, Franklin County Public Schools, Va. Stephanie Doyle, Breckinridge Middle School, Roanoke City Public Schools, Va.

About the McGlothlin Foundation
Beginning in a farmhouse nestled in the mountains of Buchanan County, Va., the McGlothlin family was sustained in their early years through farming and coal mining. As their success grew, the family business became involved in oil, gas, real estate and financial services. The McGlothlin Foundation was created in 1998 to support worthy causes in higher education, health care, and the arts in southwest Virginia, West Virginia, eastern Kentucky and northeast Tennessee.

About Radford University
Radford University offers a diverse curriculum of more than 140 undergraduate and graduate programs focused on student achievement and career preparation. A student body of 9,122 studies in seven colleges: Business and Economics, Education and Human Development, Humanities and Behavioral Sciences, Science and Technology, Visual and Performing Arts, Waldron College of Health and Human Services, and the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. RU is located in the scenic New River Valley near the Blue Ridge Mountains in Southwest Virginia. www.radford.edu

Tom McGlothlin
"The McGlothlin Foundation's goal is for the awards to inspire recipients, their students, their peers, and indeed, their entire school. It is our intent to find the best teachers in today's classrooms around our region. We want to recognize their fine work, reward them for it, and by so doing inspire others to the high qualities they exemplify. Certainly, this award will recognize in a rather significant way what we consider one of the most important professions-and one with so many unsung heroes."

The McGlothlin Awards for Teaching Excellence

Read about the Previous Winners:
2000 McGlothlin Award Winners	2001 McGlothlin Award Winners
2002 McGlothlin Award Winners	2003 McGlothlin Award Winners
2004 McGlothlin Award Winners	2005 McGlothlin Award Winners
2006 McGlothlin Award Winners	2007 McGlothlin Award Winners

Special thanks go to Tom McGlothlin and the McGlothlin Foundation for making this important recognition of teaching excellence possible. The McGlothlin Awards for Teaching Excellence are administered by Blue Ridge PBS's Education Services Department.