We are pleased to announce a new strategic alliance with the U.S. Department of Education TEACH campaign. TEACH is designed to raise awareness of the teaching profession and inspire a new generation of teachers to join the ones who are already making a difference in the classroom.
See what leaders and celebrities have to say about the impact their favorite teachers had on them and the impact good teachers make on students, schools, and communities. With the following links:
The Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Awards
The annual Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Awards publicly recognize specific teachers by spotlighting their extraordinary impact on the lives of students. The Awards celebrate the teaching profession, the important role of teachers in society, and seek to inspire others to pursue this noble profession. Nominated by students they once taught, these former students' stories exemplify the power one teacher has to inspire others and transform lives.
Find out more about how to nominate your teacher for the Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Awards.
Nominations for the 2012 cycle of the Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Awards will be accepted starting September 6, 2011.2011 Awardees
Christi Davis
"It is my joy to provide musical experiences for children that encourage them to notice how things are connected, to appreciate all cultures, and take pride in our American heritage, to lose their fear of giving a wrong answer, to contemplate excellence, and to work together to create something beautiful."
Rafe Esquith
"I might be the world's luckiest teacher. Colleagues, two Presidents, the Queen, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and the Dalai Lama have honored my use of The Arts to help students reach extraordinary heights. My proudest accomplishment, however, is that I remain a public school teacher after twenty-eight years."
Paul Fry
"Taught and lectured 39 years at Yale, 12 as Director of Graduate Studies. Started as Director of department's introductory History of Western Literature course. Chair of Yale College's Committee on Teaching and Learning, three years. My lecture course, Introduction to Literary Theory, was filmed and can be viewed at open.yale.edu/courses/."
Rembert Herbert
"My teaching career began in earnest when I joined the English Department of Hunter College High School in New York City in 1991. There I was able to establish an ongoing rapport with the students, based mutual respect and a mutual delight in thoughtful exchanges in the classroom."
Bridget Lambright
"Serving my community as an educator, mentor, facilitator, and author for fourteen years has been amazing. It has never been trouble-free being a challenging teacher, but I remain demanding because I understand my students' obstacles. Their dreams inspire me to go beyond the classroom to prepare them for post-secondary success."
Melanie Mann
"Starting my teaching career in 1998 as Miami-Dade County Public Schools Rookie Teacher of the Year, exciting; teaching for 13 years in a culturally diverse high school in Miami, challenging; sponsoring FCCLA, FEA and coaching, rewarding; preparing my students for a successful career in education, an honor."
Steven Miller
"I have taught school for 33 years. I taught three years in Rocky Ford, Colorado with grades K-1-2 and one year in Alhambra, California teaching grades 7-8. The last 29 years. I have taught at Levi Bemis Elementary with grades 3-4-5-6. I also have spent 20 years as a music teacher (guitar/banjo)."
Tom Porton
"Since beginning to teach in 1969, I have tried to educate the hearts as well as the minds of my students. I found that great learning takes place inside and outside the classroom, which I discovered when I began involving students in a variety of cultural and community service activities."
Evelys Ubiera
"I began my teaching career 15 years ago. I taught at my alma mater for 8 years and then pioneered a new program,
Project ACCEPT, where I teach today. I took my Intellectually Disabled students to college! Teaching, I feel is an incredible way of life, it is my life."
Jacque Wheeler
"I am a Professor of Theatre at Valdosta State University and serve as the Area Head of the Theatre and Dance programs and Artistic Director of Peach State Summer Theatre, the
Official Musical Theatre of the State of Georgia. I am the author of
Assignments in Musical Theatre Acting and Directing and Tall Betsy and
the Crackerbarrel Tales, a musical play for young audiences. I am a recipient of the Georgia Theatre Conference
Leighton Ballew Award for Distinguished Service to Theatre in Georgia."
Steve Zawel
"My career has focused on teaching and directing musical theatre, an ideal subject with which to impart and inspire. Discovering talent and developing it is a challenging experience. Investing time, energy, and emotion in nurturing a student's soul and self esteem is a rewarding journey. I am blessed in my semi-retirement to reconnect with countless students and see how my "instrument" turned out. Now I am the one being inspired!"
Christi Davis
"It is my joy to provide musical experiences for children that encourage them to notice how things are connected, to appreciate all cultures, and take pride in our American heritage, to lose their fear of giving a wrong answer, to contemplate excellence, and to work together to create something beautiful."
Rafe Esquith
"I might be the world's luckiest teacher. Colleagues, two Presidents, the Queen, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and the Dalai Lama have honored my use of The Arts to help students reach extraordinary heights. My proudest accomplishment, however, is that I remain a public school teacher after twenty-eight years."
Paul Fry
"Taught and lectured 39 years at Yale, 12 as Director of Graduate Studies. Started as Director of department's introductory History of Western Literature course. Chair of Yale College's Committee on Teaching and Learning, three years. My lecture course, Introduction to Literary Theory, was filmed and can be viewed at open.yale.edu/courses/."
Rembert Herbert
"My teaching career began in earnest when I joined the English Department of Hunter College High School in New York City in 1991. There I was able to establish an ongoing rapport with the students, based mutual respect and a mutual delight in thoughtful exchanges in the classroom."
Bridget Lambright
"Serving my community as an educator, mentor, facilitator, and author for fourteen years has been amazing. It has never been trouble-free being a challenging teacher, but I remain demanding because I understand my students' obstacles. Their dreams inspire me to go beyond the classroom to prepare them for post-secondary success."
Melanie Mann
"Starting my teaching career in 1998 as Miami-Dade County Public Schools Rookie Teacher of the Year, exciting; teaching for 13 years in a culturally diverse high school in Miami, challenging; sponsoring FCCLA, FEA and coaching, rewarding; preparing my students for a successful career in education, an honor."
Steven Miller
"I have taught school for 33 years. I taught three years in Rocky Ford, Colorado with grades K-1-2 and one year in Alhambra, California teaching grades 7-8. The last 29 years. I have taught at Levi Bemis Elementary with grades 3-4-5-6. I also have spent 20 years as a music teacher (guitar/banjo)."
Tom Porton
"Since beginning to teach in 1969, I have tried to educate the hearts as well as the minds of my students. I found that great learning takes place inside and outside the classroom, which I discovered when I began involving students in a variety of cultural and community service activities."
Evelys Ubiera
"I began my teaching career 15 years ago. I taught at my alma mater for 8 years and then pioneered a new program, Project ACCEPT, where I teach today. I took my Intellectually Disabled students to college! Teaching, I feel is an incredible way of life, it is my life."
Jacque Wheeler
"I am a Professor of Theatre at Valdosta State University and serve as the Area Head of the Theatre and Dance programs and Artistic Director of Peach State Summer Theatre, the Official Musical Theatre of the State of Georgia. I am the author of Assignments in Musical Theatre Acting and Directing and Tall Betsy and the Crackerbarrel Tales, a musical play for young audiences. I am a recipient of the Georgia Theatre Conference Leighton Ballew Award for Distinguished Service to Theatre in Georgia."
Steve Zawel
"My career has focused on teaching and directing musical theatre, an ideal subject with which to impart and inspire. Discovering talent and developing it is a challenging experience. Investing time, energy, and emotion in nurturing a student's soul and self esteem is a rewarding journey. I am blessed in my semi-retirement to reconnect with countless students and see how my "instrument" turned out. Now I am the one being inspired!"
