Staff Celebrations
Middle College High School teacher at Northgate Mall nominated for teacher of the year award
The Simon Youth Foundation (SYF) has nominated Beth Brunton, a teacher at Middle College High School, Northgate Mall, for its 2011 National Teacher of the Year award.
Brunton, the Northgate site coordinator, teaches all humanities courses at the school, including language arts, civics, law and U.S. history. She helped create and sustain the Middle College at Northgate program for the past ten years.
Along with her teaching responsibilities, Brunton is credited for helping raise funds to hire a life coach and substance abuse counselor at the school. The two staff members helped at-risk students learn how to set better goals and become more self-sufficient.
The SYF National Teacher of the Year will be named at the SYF National Conference to be held Oct. 9-12 in Schaumburg, Ill. The conference runs in conjunction with the National Dropout Prevention Network Conference.
The winner will be honored at the conference awards dinner, then will lecture on best practices in alternative schools at the dropout prevention conference.
The winner also will receive a stipend to cover expenses for attending both conferences, which run concurrently, and a $1,000 grant will be awarded to the Teacher of the Year's school for the purchase of new supplies, equipment or other enhancements.
Simon Property Group, a real-estate holding company, owns the Northgate Mall where the school is located. In partnership with local public school districts nationwide, SYF supports 23 Simon Youth Academies in 13 states, primarily located in Simon malls.
Brunton was selected for the top teacher award from the network of 23 nationwide academies.