Fifteen FWISD teachers have been chosen as the 2011-2012 Academic Chairs for Teaching Excellence. The selected teachers have been conferred with the title of Chair for Teaching Excellence for one year and receive a $5,000 honorarium.
The Chairs for Teaching Excellence program was established in the Fort Worth ISD in 1994. It is modeled after the university-level Chair program and is designed to recognize and reward exemplary teachers. This program is unique because of its role in a public secondary school setting and for its rigorous selection process.
Each nominee must complete a lengthy application and collect written recommendations from their principal and a parent or student. If selected for further consideration, the teacher will be interviewed and then must present a teaching demonstration to the selection committee. There are separate selection committees for each Chair.
Since its inception, generous sponsors have awarded more than $600,000 to teachers. Teachers selected as Chairs are encouraged to pursue further education and training and to share their knowledge and expertise with colleagues.
Recipients were honored at a luncheon on December 8 at the Fort Worth Club.
>> Watch the Video!
>> View Photo Gallery!
The recipients are:
Lockheed Martin Chair for Teaching Excellence in Elementary Math
Charles Harris – Alice Carlson Applied Learning Center
Lockheed Martin Chair for Teaching Excellence in Elementary Science
Rocco Williams – David K. Sellars
Angela D. Paulos Chair for Teaching Excellence in Visual Arts
Sponsor: Fort Worth Arts Education Partnership
Genifer Best – Alice Carlson Applied Learning Center
Bayard H. Friedman Chair for Teaching Excellence in Performing Arts (selected last spring)
Sponsor: Performing Arts Fort Worth
Debra Rue – Western Hills High School
Zelma and J.T. Luther, Jr. Chair for Teaching Excellence in Library Science
Sponsors: Patsy Luther Cantrell and Jan Luther Johnson
Fred Jahns – South Hills High School
RadioShack Chair for Teaching Excellence in Secondary Science
Charlotte Burrell – R.L. Paschal High School
Sewell Lexus of Fort Worth Chair for Teaching Excellence in Humanities
Gladys Scott – Wedgwood Middle School
Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP Chair for Teaching Excellence in Health & Physical Education
Theresa Gillespie – South Hills High School
Quicksilver Resources Chair for Teaching Excellence in Acquisition of Language
Cody Cox – Arlington Heights High School
Crescent Real Estate Chair for Teaching Excellence in Career and Technology Education
Jason Bennett – Trimble Tech High School
Freese and Nichols Chair for Teaching Excellence in Secondary Mathematics
Ashley Larson – Arlington Heights High School
XTO Energy Chair for Teaching Excellence in Early Childhood Education
Elizabeth Ann Barton – Bruce Shulkey Elementary School
Molyneaux Foundation Chair for Teaching Excellence in Special Education
Susan Moore – South Hills Elementary School
Chase Chair for Teaching Excellence in Secondary English
Anne Proctor – Stripling Middle School
Outreach Communications Chair for Teaching Excellence in Elementary Reading
Jennifer Kennedy – Mary Louise Phillips Elementary School