District 3 teachers named finalists for Kansas Teacher of the Year
TOPEKA, September 16, 2007
Karla Denny, Director, Communications and Recognition Programs, 785-296-4876
Jeri Powers, a reading specialist at Riverview Elementary School in Shawnee (DeSoto USD 232), and Elaine S. Corder, a twelfth-grade language arts teacher at Spring Hill High School (Spring Hill USD 230), were named Region 3 finalists for the 2008 Kansas Teacher of the Year award today.
The announcements were made during ceremonies at the Marriott Hotel in Overland Park. As finalists for the Kansas Teacher of the Year distinction, Powers and Corder each received a $2,000 cash award from Security Benefit, a major partner in the Kansas Teacher of the Year program.
Powers and Corder are among six Teacher of the Year semi-finalists from Region 3, which covers the third U.S. congressional district. Other semi-finalists were Julie Anne Skahan, a second-grade teacher at Highlands Elementary School in Shawnee Mission (Shawnee Mission USD 512); James R. Hann, a fifth-grade teacher at Bonner Springs Elementary School (Bonner Springs USD 204); Elizabeth O’Brien, a high school communication arts teacher at Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park (Blue Valley USD 229); and David “Bret” Klankey, a high school French, mathematics, and computer programming teacher at Turner High School in Kansas City (Turner USD 202). Each of the semi-finalists received a golden apple, compliments of The Master Teacher in Manhattan.
Statewide, 91 educators were nominated for the Kansas Teacher of the Year distinction. Nominations are made in each of four regions in the state. The Kansas State Department of Education, sponsor of the Kansas Teacher of the Year program, appointed regional selection panels to select semi-finalists and finalists from each region.
The selection panels are comprised of teachers, education administrators, and higher education representatives. Each panel selects six semi-finalists, three elementary teachers and three secondary teachers. From those semi-finalists, the panel in each region then selects one elementary finalist and one secondary finalist. The Kansas Teacher of the Year will be selected from among the regional finalists and announced during a ceremony Nov. 17 in Wichita.
The individual selected as the Kansas Teacher of the Year is then eligible for national distinction as Teacher of the Year. The National Teacher of the Year program is a project of the Council of Chief State School Officers and sponsored by the ING Foundation.
-more-
The Kansas Teacher of the Year team, comprised of the Teacher of the Year and state finalists, travels the state advocating for education and the teaching profession.
# # #