Awards and Accolades

By: NWP Staff
Date: January 2007

California

Redwood Writing Project

Nikola Hobbel, 2005 fellow, received the Alastair McCrone Promising Scholar Award from Humboldt State University. Hobbel also published "Beyond the Sole Category of Race: Using a CRT (Critical Race Theory) Intersectional Framework to Map Identity Projects," coauthored with Dr. Thandeka K. Chapman, in the winter 2006 issue of the Journal of Curriculum Theorizing. Hobbel teaches English education at Humboldt State University.

San Diego Area Writing Project

Judy Leff, 1991 fellow, was honored as one of four San Diego County Teachers of the Year. Leff teaches at Paul Ecke Central Elementary School in Encinitas.

San Jose Area Writing Project

Mary Warner, associate director and 1995 Dakota Writing Project fellow (South Dakota), published Adolescents in the Search for Meaning: Tapping the Powerful Resource of Story (Scarecrow Press, 2006).

South Basin Writing Project

Janet Barker, 2005 fellow, was named 2006 California Woman of the Year for district 28 by past California state senator (and current California secretary of state) Debra Bowen. Barker was also named 2006 Los Angeles County Teacher of the Year. Barker teaches at Nick G. Parras Middle School in Redondo Beach.

Colorado

Rocky Mountain Writing Project

Susan Ryder, 2006 fellow, was awarded 2007 Colorado Teacher of the Year. Ryder teaches seventh grade language arts at Estes Park Middle School in Estes Park.

Delaware

Delaware Writing Project

Carol Vukelich, director, published the third edition of Teaching Language and Literacy: Preschool through the Elementary Grades, coauthored by James F. Christie and Billie Jean Enz (Allyn & Bacon, 2007). Vukelich is director of the Delaware Center for Teacher Education at the University of Delaware.

Daniel Bradley, 2001 fellow, was named Teacher of the Year for the Brandywine School District. Bradley, a Fulbright Memorial Fund scholar, will travel to Japan this year to study Japanese culture and education. Bradley is English Language Arts chair at Springer Middle School in Wilmington.

Sharon Crossen, 1999 fellow, was the first English teacher in Delaware to earn National Board certification and has now renewed her certification for an additional ten years. Crossen teaches English, language arts, and drama at Polytech High School in Woodside.

Jill Joos, 2005 fellow, renewed her National Board certification.

Raymond Theilacker, 2002 fellow, was selected as a finalist for the 2006 Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award by Phi Delta Kappa. Theilacker had a curriculum unit, "The Popol Vuh: A High School Literature Unit," published online in Native America: Understanding the Past Through Things IV (Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute). Theilacker also published "Poetry about the Workforce" and copublished "The Case for a Vo-Tech Teachers Institute" with Cary A. Brandenberger, 2003 fellow, in On Common Ground 11. Theilacker teaches twelfth grade English at Howard High School of Technology in Wilmington.

Florida

National Writing Project at Florida Gulf Coast University

Sara Kohlhauff, co-director, Jo Stahl, 2002 fellow, and Patricia Wachholz, director, had "Cross-Age Mentoring: The Buddy Books Project" published in Perspectives in Peer Programs 20 (2): 26–31. Kohlhauff teaches first grade at Pinewoods Elementary School in Estero, Stahl teaches English at Estero High School, and Wachholz is associate dean of the Division of Graduate Studies, College of Education, at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Georgia

Georgia Southern Writing Project

Kathy Albertson, director, was awarded the 2006–2007 Governor's Teaching Fellowship at the University of Georgia.

Illinois

Illinois State Writing Project

Ann Cox, 2004 fellow, had "Exciting Students (and Teachers) Through Multigenre Writing" published in the Illinois English Bulletin 93 (3): 29–38.

Michigan

Eastern Michigan Writing Project

Rebecca Sipe, co-director, and Tracy Rosewarne, 1998 fellow, published Purposeful Writing: Genre Study in the Secondary Writing Workshop (Heinemann, 2006).

Minnesota

Minnesota Writing Project

Shelly Bertrand, 2004 fellow, received the 2006 Fulbright Teacher Exchange Scholarship to study in the Czech Republic.

Melissa Borgmann, 2001 fellow, was chosen to participate in the 2006—2007 Harvard Graduate School of Education Project Zero study, "Qualities of Quality: Excellence in Arts Education and How to Achieve It." The project aims to synthesize what is currently understood about the critical elements of high-quality arts teaching and learning and to identify effective strategies for creating those experiences for school-age youth in diverse settings.

Jennifer Budenski, 2005 fellow, received the College Board Bob Costas grant and 2006 Minnesota Council of Teachers of English grant for arts inclusion. Budenski published the following pieces: "Monday Morning at David M. Lily Plaza" in the Minnesota Writing Project Anthology (2006); "Prayer" in Mom Writers Literary Magazine (2006); "Self-Portrait after Reading Akutagawa" in Poets & Artists Collaborative V (April 2006); and "What a Poet Would Draw" in Poetry East 56 (2006).

Karen Christenson, 1997 fellow, received the 2006 Ingenuity Grant from 3M to teach her students all about the "Marvels of the Mighty Mississippi." Christenson is a gifted services specialist at Bruce F. Vento Elementary School in St. Paul.

Robert Cudahy, 2005 fellow, was appointed by Mayor Chris Coleman to the St. Paul Planning Commission, which advises the mayor on planning and development issues that arise in the city. Cudahy teaches English language learners at Franklin Music Magnet in Saint Paul.

Alex Mueller, 2005 fellow, was awarded the 2007 Ruth Drake Dissertation Fellowship by the University of Minnesota.

SuEllen Shaw, 1992 fellow, received the Minnesota State University Moorhead Excellence in Service Award.

Mississippi

Live Oak Writing Project

J. Elaine White, director and 1992 Oklahoma Writing Project fellow, received the 2006 Mississippi Humanities Council Teacher Award as a representative from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Montana

Montana Writing Project

Heather Bruce, director and 1981 Utah Writing Project fellow, received the 2006 Distinguished Educator Award from the Montana Association of Teachers of English Language Arts.

Pennsylvania

Endless Mountains Writing Project

Dick Heyler, co-director, published The Oral History Project: Connecting Students to Their Community, Grades 4—8, coauthored with Linda G. Reilly, Diane Skiffington Dickson, and Stephanie Romano (Heinemann, 2006).

Philadelphia Writing Project

Donna Sharer, 1994 fellow, received a $24,000 James Madison Fellowship to pursue a master's degree in history and political science. Sharer also won first place for her history lesson "Old Enough to Fight, Old Enough to Vote: Minimum Age and Voting," in the Annenberg Classroom Lesson Plan Contest. Sharer teaches high school social studies and is currently on sabbatical.

Shirley Brown, 1988 fellow, had "A Gender Inclusive Approach to English/Language Arts Methods: Literacy with a Critical Lens," coauthored with Paula Alida Roy, published in Gender in the Classroom: Foundations, Skills, Methods, and Strategies Across the Curriculum, edited by David Sadker and Ellen S. Silber (Lawrence Erlbaum, 2007). Brown is a program associate at the National Writing Project.

AnnMarie Marranzini, 2002 fellow, was recognized as a 2005—2006 Outstanding American Teacher by the National Honor Roll.

Southcentral Pennsylvania Writing Project

Valeri Helterbran, 2002 fellow, had "The Dancer" published in The Loyalhanna Review 2006. Helterbran is an associate professor and assistant chairperson in the Department of Professional Studies in Education at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Helen Sitler, 1998 fellow and director, was selected as the new columnist of "Education and Academics" for The Forum (Phi Kappa Phi). Sitler is an associate professor in the Department of English at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Texas

Greater Houston Area Writing Project

Carolyn Durham, 2006 fellow, was honored for her paper "Music Motivates the Movement of the Mind" by the Houston Teachers Institute Curriculum Project 2006—2007.

Beth Hammett, co-director, received the 2006 College of the Mainland Teaching Excellence Award and is a finalist for Instructor of the Year. Hammett also published Developmental Writing Workshop (Kendall Hunt, 2007).

Virginia

Central West Virginia Writing Project

Linda Berg, 2004 fellow, was named 2006–2007 Teacher of the Year at Putnam County Schools and earned National Board certification. Berg teaches sixth grade language arts at George Washington Middle School in Alexandria.