Roanoke County and Bristol,
Tennessee Teachers take top 2008 McGlothlin
Award Honors

Tamatha Farrell, 5th Grade Teacher at Burlington Elementary School in Roanoke County and Tracy Easterling, a seventh grade math teacher at Vance Middle School in Bristol, Tennessee were awarded $25,000 at the McGlothlin Awards for Teaching Excellence in a ceremony April 17th at Radford University.

Ms. Farrell will use $10,000 of her award to travel to England to follow in the steps of Roald Dahl, her favorite children's author. Ms. Easterling will use her winnings to visit Bulgaria, Greece, Italy and England.

Tracy Easterling, Tom McGlothlin and Tamatha Farrell

More than 450 guests attended the McGlothlin "Celebration of Teaching" . There was a presentation by children's author, Gloria Houston and the keynote address was given by the Honorable Thomas R. Morris, Ph.D. the Virginia Secretary of Education. Former McGlothlin winners had poster presentations during the evening.

Beloved Buchanan County retired teacher, and Radford graduate, Grace Wooldridge (shown at right)  was honored during a special presentation, called Legacies: An Oral History Project, and the establishment of a scholarship in her name was announced.

This is the 9th year the McGlothlin Foundation has made these awards to outstanding teachers in the region of western Virginia, and adjacent localities in Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee. Next September, the 2009 "Calls for Entry" will be mailed to all eligible localities. Start thinking now about how you would use this award to bring the world to your classroom.

2008 Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest Winners announced

Twelve children from the Blue Ridge PBS region have been recognized for outstanding originality, creativity, storytelling and artistry as winners of the 2008 Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest. 

First Place Winners

• Kindergarten: "My Trip to Mars" by Jarrett Tyree, Tye River Elementary School, Arrington, VA

• First Grade: "Dipper's Adventure" by Mary Heffron, homeschooled, Roanoke, VA

• Second Grade: "The Magic Box" by Cecelia Delledera, Bedford Elementary School, Bedford, VA

• Third Grade: "An Unbreakable Frog" by Savannah Roberson, Castlewood Elementary School, Castlewood, VA

Second Place Winners

• Kindergarten: "The Little Ladybug" by Skylar Roberson, Copper Creek Elementary School, Castlewood, VA

• First Grade: "Fishing With Dad" by Kathryn Painchaud, Bedford Primary School, Bedford, VA

• Second Grade: "Noise in the Wall" by Josiah Grow, homeschooled, Lexington, VA

• Third Grade: "The Dancing Pigs" by Zy'Asia Mays, Forest Park New American School, Roanoke, VA

Special Illustrator Awards

• Kindergarten: "Ants Under My Bed" by Cole Baker, Tazewell Elementary School, Tazewell, VA

• First Grade: "Anna and the Kitten" by Hannah Fleenor, St.John Neumann Academy, Pulaski, VA

• Second Grade: "The Aliens From Outer Space" by Nicholas Weitzenfeld, Check Elementary School, Check, VA

• Third Grade: "I'd Like to be a Whale" by Sarah Kern, McHarg Elementary School, Radford, VA

Upcoming QTL Training

June 16-20- "Extreme Quality Teaching and Learning in Instructional Technology" (for ITRTs and teachers)
Work collaboratively with 15 fellow educators on blending Web 2.0 with instructional strategies for a higher student engagement and achievement.

9 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
9 a.m.-noon on Friday.

(A college credit comes at no extra cost...
$595 per person)

June 23-25- "QTL for Administrators"
Sixteen administrators will receive 3 days of in-depth, small- group professional development on how to accelerate school improvement through understanding and implementing best practices in technology integration, action research using student data, Professional Learning Communities and coaching your teachers to become better at their craft of teaching.

(A college credit comes at no extra cost...
$375.00 per person)