HMMS Teachers Recognized for Creativity in the Classroom

           Jamie Houston and Sharon Collins from Maynardville

              Nominated for 2006 Disney Teacher Award

Jamie Houston and Sharon Collins, teachers at Horace Maynard Middle School, are being recognized for their creativity and success in the classroom as Disney Teacher Award Nominees. Houston and Collins join an elite group of teachers from across the country who have been recognized by their communities. As the next step in the awards process, they are now submitting applications to be considered for the 2006 Disney Teacher of the Year Award.

Ms. Collins says “It is a great honor to be recognized by the community and by the Disney organization.”

Ms. Houston says “I’m very honored and flattered to be considered for this award. It is nice to know that all of your hard work and effort is being recognized by others.”   Horace Maynard Middle School principal, Melissa Carter says, “We are very proud of Ms. Houston and Ms. Collins. They are both excellent teachers and are very deserving of this nomination.”

Since 1989, Disney Teacher Awards have been presented to teachers who construct learning environments where students and teachers alike explore, imagine and engage in variety of stimulating ideas and experiences. Specifically, the program honors those teachers whose approaches exemplify creativity in teaching and who inspire a joy of learning in their students.

“Sixteen years ago, we started celebrating local heroes by establishing the annual Disney Teacher Awards to celebrate and honor America’s finest educators,” said Terry Wick, vice president, Disney Worldwide Outreach. “This nomination process shows thousands of teachers across the country how much their work means to their students, colleagues and communities.”

In addition to letters of recommendation, both teachers will submit an application that includes several professional reflection essays describing his classroom and approach to teaching, the impact of high stakes testing, how he approaches collaboration in his school and career and an event that shaped him as a teacher. A committee comprised of education experts from around the country will then review the nominee applications and select the 2006 Disney Teacher Award Honorees.

The Honorees will be announced in late spring and celebrated at a red-carpet Awards Gala in July. During the Gala, four Honorees will be selected, as Outstanding Teachers and one will be named the 2006 Disney Teacher of the Year. In addition, the Honorees each receive $10,000, a $5,000 grant for their schools and a six-day professional development institute with their principals at the Walt Disney World Resort. At the institute, teachers share ideas to refine their innovative teaching approaches and learn how to engage other teachers to build an effective collaborative teaching culture at their schools.