Read Mountain Middle School sixth grade English teacher Angela Myers received a $1,000 prize as a finalist in the 18th annual 2017 McGlothlin Awards for Teaching Excellence.
The winners were announced last Thursday at a ceremony at Radford University.
Myers was one of three finalists in the Secondary School Division. Fred Mitchell, a Carroll County High School chemistry teacher, was named the winner in the division and received $25,000. Judith Painter, an Andrew Lewis (Salem) Middle School teacher, was the other finalist.
Blue Ridge PBS administers the months-long candidate application and judging process for the McGlothlin Awards that are given annually— one to a secondary teacher and one to an elementary teacher— by the McGlothlin Foundation of Bristol.
Six of the Blue Ridge region’s best teachers were selected as finalists from 18 semi-finalists for the two 2017 McGlothlin Awards. The McGlothlin Foundation, Blue Ridge PBS and Radford University’s College of Education and Human Development hosted the awards ceremony.
The Elementary Division winner is Glen Chilcote, a Kipps Elementary School teacher in Montgomery County Schools. Christina Coffey, a teacher at Oak Grove Elementary School in Roanoke County Schools, and Tim Kilbourne, a Meadowview Elementary School teacher in Washington County were the other two finalists..
Only teachers in selected portions of Virginia, Tennessee, West Virginia and Kentucky are eligible.
The 18 semi-finalists were judged based on a standards-based lesson plan with a 20-minute video of themselves teaching the lesson in their classrooms. Judges then conducted interviews to further evaluate the finalists. Criteria include classroom instruction, classroom management, interaction with students, and use of instructional technology such as computers, video or digital cameras.
“Once again, the judges had a very difficult time selecting the top three in each category; all submissions were outstanding,” said Adele Morris, director for the McGlothlin Awards. “Teachers in our communities are educational treasures— so energetic, competent and dedicated to their students.”
The McGlothlin Celebration of Teaching is an annual event honoring the Blue Ridge region’s best teachers with the McGlothlin Awards for Teaching Excellence. These awards are some of the largest monetary awards for teaching in the nation. The awards ceremony caps the day’s McGlothlin Celebration of Teaching activities.
This year’s event will also promoted the StoryCorps initiative, an effort to celebrate the wisdom and power of dedicated teachers locally and globally.
