More than 80 Teachers to be Recognized Wednesday

Board of Ed Salutes Teachers of the Month, Horizon Award Winners, National Board Certified Teachers

April 30, 2012

More than 80 teachers are expected to be recognized by the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education at its regular meeting at 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 2, followed by a reception at the APS administrative building, 6400 Uptown Blvd. NE.

Among those who will be honored are teachers who earned National Board Certification this school year, those who received Horizon Awards this spring and those who were recognized as Teachers of the Month by the APS Education Foundation and Pepsi for the 2011-2012 school year.

“APS has some truly amazing teachers who, honestly, don’t always get the pats on the back they deserve. Here’s our chance to say way to go and thanks to many of those who really are making a difference in the classroom,” said Phill Casaus, APS Education Foundation executive director.

National Board Certified Teachers

Fifty-one APS teachers achieved the distinguished honor of earning National Board Certification this school year, ranking APS sixth in the nation in the number of teachers who were certified. APS has 340 National Board Certified Teachers.

The National Board Certified Teachers are Deborah Blea, Sarah Castillo-Jaramillo, Ranell Cox, Suzan Dunnum, Michael Evans, Jeannie Fenchel, Michael Freeman, Barbara Garvey, Kathlyn Graham, Michele Groth, Antoinette Hallam, Lisa  Haven, Amanda Henry, Regina Ligon, Qiyun Lin, Gina Loveridge-Murray, Wendy Lucero, Eileen Luchini, Linda Mackie, Stephen Malone, Heather Martin, Carmen Martinez-Mares, Cheryl McElheney, Cynthia Milligan, Nicole Miner, Sarah Monarski, Ruth Montgomery, Elsie Moses-Hoeg, Jennifer Nagel, Daniel Ormrod, Anita Ortiz, Bonnie Pachanian-Finch, Robert Perea, Susan Pinch, Eryka Raynak, Marnie Rehn, Debra Rider, Cary Robinson, Cynthia Romero, Lila Sanchez, Tanya Shaw, Sarah Sherman, Ritamarie Theiler, Melissa Tholund, Deborah Vigil, Constance Warren, Sandra Warrick, Anita Warrier, Mark Woodard, Aimee Wray and Jin Yoshida.

Horizon Awards

More than 60 teachers at 20 schools were recipients of the springtime cycle of the Horizon Awards sponsored by the APS Foundation. These teachers earned nearly $61,000 for fine arts, middle and high school activities, literacy and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). The Horizon Awards go to teachers who are looking to do something innovative in their classrooms.

This spring’s recipients are Gail Ferris, Megan Wylie, Allison Shanahan, Andrea Prangley, and Melissa Maestas of Volcano Vista HS; Julie Gallegos and Meghan Miller of the Juvenile Detention Center’s education program; Doris Merzweiler, Joan Culver, Audie Brown and Michael Neff of Hayes MS and Brita Judd of Wilson MS; Charles Anderson and Keri Steplowski of Van Buren MS; Anne Bateman Kendall and Tony Carson of Jimmy Carter MS; Terry Gaussoin, Stephanie Mast and Carol Lee O’Keeffe of Eubank ES; Clint “Tee” McDougal, Karen Turano, Darlene Benedict, Teresa Silva, Gwen Moseley, Andrea Britton, Fred March and Dorian Chavez of Eugene Field ES; Cristal Wilson, Elicia Chavez, and Principal Renee Gallegos of Los Ranchos ES; Vince Case, Sherry McCarty and Laura McGovern of Sandia Mountain Natural History Center; Diane Cameron of Dolores Gonzales ES and Anna Benavidez of Reginald Chavez ES; Patricia Garcia, Margie Severn, Joy Ehler, Liz DeKinder, Kathy Woodruff, Kendall Ritter, and Jennifer Montano (special education principal) of Lyndon B. Johnson MS; Amy Richardson, Norma Quinones and  Roberta Pohl of Dolores Gonzales ES; Principal Sara Carrillo, Laurice Davidson, Georgia Martin, and Shayna Lazar of Mountain View ES; Heather Diluzio of Pajarito ES; Ritamarie Theiler (two grants awarded), Kathy Nye and Julie McFee of McCollum ES; Caroline Benavidez, ShaRon Dandy and Carla Sanchez of Zia ES; Cynthia Mitchell, Randi Banach and Jacqueline Robison of Albuquerque HS; Shannon Rhoades, Carol Leyendecker and Ethel Goebel of Georgia O’Keeffe ES; Lori Hickox, Michelle Mullen, Emily Myer and Roxanne Johnson of Lyndon B. Johnson MS.

Teachers of the Month

The APS Education Foundation, in partnership with Pepsi, recognizes an APS teacher each month during the school year for outstanding contributions to the classroom, school and community. This year’s teachers of the month are Ross Nord, ECA/CEC – September; Barbara Norris, Grant MS – October; Amy Melia, Sierra Vista ES – November; Robert Sanchez, Washington MS – December; January – Judie Dwyer, Del Norte HS – January; Maggie Higgins, Carlos Rey ES – February; Liz Wright, Eldorado HS – March; Sandra Daffron, Madison MS – April; Margarita Barraza, Polk MS – May.