School administrator nominated for Rotarian of the Year
Cothron McMillian, teaching and learning project coordinator at Seattle Public Schools, was nominated for the 2006-07 Rotarian of the Year Award for her efforts in promoting literacy through the Rotary Club of Rainier Dictionary Project. McMillian coordinated the efforts of 17 clubs in distributing free dictionaries to more than 6,600 third-graders throughout King County.

School Board recognizes National Board Certified Teachers

New National Board Certified Teachers were recognized at the March 7 School Board meeting. Teachers are top row, from left: Onny Tabares, Elizabeth McCormack, Marcie Von Beck, Peter Weschler, Betty Brennan and Jeff Ursino. Bottom row, from left are: Jennifer Kovach, Julie Clayton and Lair Showalter. A total of 22 teachers from Seattle Public Schools earned their certification in 2006. For more information on earning the NBCT honor, contact Hilary Rosenfield at 252-0136 or e-mail hjrosenfield@seattle
schools.org.

Heinemann publishes science coach's first book:
Writing in Science: How to Scaffold Instruction to Support Learning

Betsy Rupp Fulwiler, a science coach for Seattle Public Schools and a Roosevelt High School graduate has had a book published by Heinemann. The book, Writing in Science: How to Scaffold Instruction to Support Learning, is geared for K-5 teachers and is the result of eight years of developing and implementing the Expository Writing and Science Notebook program in Seattle Public Schools.

UW to honor award-winning Garfield High orchestra director
Award-winning Garfield High School Orchestra Director Marcus Tsutakawa will be honored by his alma mater, the University of Washington, in ceremonies May 17. The UW College of Arts and Sciences will confer its Distinguished Alumnus Award upon Tsutakawa and three other recipients at its 16th Annual Celebration of Distinction Dinner. Tsutakawa earned both his BA and MA from the UW School of Music in 1979 and 1985, respectively. He has been an instrumental music teacher in Seattle Public Schools since 1979, and the director of the Garfield Orchestra since 1985.

Arbor Heights teacher wins $10,000 education technology grant
Mark Ahlness selected for work in integrating blogging into his literacy class
Mark Ahlness, a third-grade teacher at Arbor Heights Elementary School, has won a Qwest education technology grant worth $10,000 for his work in integrating blogging into his literacy class to improve academic achievement. The grant will be used to encourage students to learn blogging; start pod-casting from home (with supervision from parents); collaboratively write and solve math problems online; produce and create DVDs documenting their class plays, dramatic readings and original works; and create their own "wiki", a Web site or similar online resource which allows users to add and edit content collectively

Seattle Public Schools wins prestigious video and film award
Seattle Public Schools’ won a prestigious video and film award for its production of "Sexual Misconduct: What all School Staff Need to Know and Do." The video was awarded a Silver Telly Award in the Safety category. Less than 10 percent of entries are chosen as winners of a Silver Telly, the highest honor, and Silver Winners are awarded a Silver statuette. "Sexual Misconduct: What all School Staff Need to Know and Do" deals with the difficult issue of sexual abuse in the school setting.

Stevens Elementary centennial celebration May 12
Stevens Elementary School will celebrate 100 years of public education on Seattle's Capitol Hill with an open house Saturday, May 12. Stevens opened its doors in September 1906 as an eight-room, two-story wood building serving students from Grades 1-8 from the Capitol Hill and Interlaken neighborhoods, which included Montlake. Stevens now serves about 300 kindergarten through Grade 5 students.

Garfield High volleyball coach wins Horace Mann Award
Garfield High Assistant Volleyball Coach Jack Hamann is the recipient of the 2007 Horace Mann Award for his book, "On American Soil." Leslie Hamann, his wife and Garfield’s head volleyball coach since 2000, helped research the book.

Hamann, a Seattle journalist, won the award for dedicating three years of his life to clearing the names of 28 African American soldiers who were wrongly convicted by the U.S. government during World War II.

Hamann’s work has earned dozens of awards, including ten Emmy awards, medals from film festivals in New York, Chicago, Columbus and Houston, and honors from the National Press Club and the Society of Professional Journalists. Investigative Reporters and Editors selected "On American Soil," (Algonquin Books, 2005) as the best American investigative book for 2006. It was a Top Ten pick by the American Booksellers Association and an international "Discover Great New Writers" selection by Barnes and Noble.

UPS Black History Month program honors Seattle educator
The UPS Washington District Black History Committee honored Cothron L. McMillian on Feb. 22 with the 2007 UPS Community Advocate Service Shield Award for her efforts to enhance and maximize involvement within the black community.

McMillian, the School District’s teaching and learning project coordinator, manages GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) and the AVID (Advancement via Individual Determination) program. From 1988-2005, McMillian was a principal mentor, middle school assistant principal and elementary school principal for Seattle Public Schools.

The committee noted that McMillian, a member of the Rainier Rotary Club, was instrumental in the success of the Rainier Rotary Dictionary Program. The project promotes literacy by giving out free dictionaries to 3rd-grade students at several schools in Seattle.

Hamilton teacher helps create classroom libraries to increase literacy
Hamilton International Middle School teacher Jim Jarosz has received a $15,000 grant to support literacy in the classroom and will be creating three full classroom libraries – one library per grade level.

Jarosz wants to especially encourage middle school boys to read. Through the support of the grant, Jarosz has been able to purchase a series of books from Guys Read, a Web-based literacy program that helps boys find books that interest them.

22 Seattle Public Schools teachers earned National Board Certification in 2006:

Teachers named Symetra Heroes in the Classroom
The following teachers were named Symetra Heroes in the Classroom and recognized for their outstanding leadership and instructional skills. They were honored both in the classroom and on Qwest field during Seahawks home games this season.