NEA WOMEN'S ISSUES COMMITTEE - EVELINA LOYA
NEA Director, Region 4E President and GEA Past-President Evelina Loya, was appointed by NEA President Dennis Van Roekel to the NEA WIC (Women’s Issues Committee). At the September NEA Board meeting, the NEA Board of Directors approved the appointment. She will serve a three year term.
GEA REPRESENTATION - JUDY HESTER
Second Vice-President Judy Hester from Freeman Elementary School, represented GEA on stage at the NEA Representative Assembly in Chicago, Illinois in July. As a delegate, Judy won the privilege of representing Texas as US Vice-President Joe Biden addressed 10,000 educators.
AGNES SMITH AWARD WINNER - NORMA WATERS
The recipient of the Agnes Smith Award for 2010-2011 is GEA Secretary, Norma Waters, from Hudson Middle School. She was recognized in May with this award, for her contributions to the association.
NEA MEMBER NAMED 2011 NATIONAL TEACHER OF THE YEAR
(Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
NEA member and teacher Michelle Shearer was named the 2011 National Teacher of the Year by President Barack Obama at a White House ceremony today. Shearer, a chemistry teacher at Urbana High School in Ijamsville, Md., was awarded the prestigious title because of her commitment to helping children who have traditionally been underrepresented in science and for her innovative approaches to technology and teacher-student interactions in the classroom. She will serve for one year as a full-time national and international spokesperson for public education.
“On behalf of NEA and its 3.2 million members, I congratulate Michelle Shearer on being named National Teacher of the Year,” said NEA President Dennis Van Roekel. “We are so proud and honored to represent Michelle. She is a great example of how teachers transform the lives of their students every day, engaging them and creating enthusiasm for learning. Michelle’s extraordinary passion, professionalism, and never-ending search to find captivating ways of teaching science have inspired her students to realize their potential and achieve their dreams.”
According to Shearer, “there is an aspiring scientist in all of us.” She said she captures students’ attention by making real-life connections to scientific theories. She has worked with students with poor vision, attention deficit disorder and Asperger’s syndrome, and also has taught a course in advanced placement chemistry in American Sign Language at the Maryland School for the Deaf.
Shearer received her B.A. in Chemistry from Princeton University and graduated Magna Cum Laude. She also attended the Graduate Program in Deaf Education at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. and received her M.S. in Deaf Education at McDaniel College in Maryland.
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) announced the four finalists for the 2011 National Teacher of the Year in January. In addition to Shearer, they included: Annice Brave, a high school English and journalism teacher at Alton High School in Alton, Ill.; Cheryl Conley, a fourth grade teacher at Osceola Magnet Elementary School in Vero Beach, Fla.; and Paul Andersen, a ninth through twelfth grade biology teacher at Bozeman High School in Bozeman, Mont. All four finalists are NEA members.
“We are extremely proud to have our second national teacher of the year in five years from Maryland, and we applaud Michelle Shearer on this tremendous accomplishment,” said Maryland State Education Association President Clara Floyd. “As we pause to celebrate National Teacher Appreciation Week, it is a wonderful moment to show appreciation to an educator whose deep, meaningful impact has been recognized in Frederick County, the state of Maryland, and now the entire nation.”
