Teachers Count

TeacherBlog

Five teacher-bloggers are currently sharing their thoughts about education and the teaching life on the official TeachersCount blog. Read below to learn about this diverse and accomplished group of educators.

To read the blog click here!

Keith Newman has been a teacher in inner city Philadelphia for 13 years, the last ten at Andrew J. Morrison School in Olney. His lesson plans were used by National Public Television for their Liberty’s Kids after schools series, and high schools all across Philadelphia have modeled their nutrition programs based a Service Learning Program he created. This year his Service Learning Project, “Searching For the Solution,” a program designed by students enabling them to avoid becoming criminal statistics received national attention, and is profiled at The Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools. His colleagues have nominated him to be a candidate for the 2008 Dr. Ruth Wright Hayre Teacher of the Year Award.

Daniel R. Venables has been teaching math for 25 years in a wide range of venues: from privileged, high-achieving students in a top-notch private school in Columbia, SC to disadvantaged, at-risk students in two of Charlotte’s toughest high schools. He has taught everything from Math Tech I to AP Calculus. As a math content coach and Middle School Math Professional Development Coordinator for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District and also as an education consultant, Mr. Venables has observed close to 1000 math classes. He is a Math/Science Fellow for the Coalition of Essential Schools and was awarded South Carolina Independent School Teacher of the Year in 2002. He has earned a B.S. and M.A.L.S in mathematics and is currently writing a book on education whose working title is Delayed Mastery Learning.
Contact him at danielvenables@mac.com for comments or for inquiries about scheduling a visit your school or district.

Melanie Walls has been teaching in the public school system in Florida for over 10 years. She spent 6 years teaching business and marketing courses in very urban South Florida schools, but is currently teaching upper level math at Keystone Heights Jr-Sr. High School which is located in a rather rural area of North Florida. In addition to her classroom responsibilities, Mrs. Walls has coached cheerleading and sponsored numerous clubs including Senior Girls, FCA, Mu Alpha Theta, FBLA, DECA, and Anchor. She received a Bachelors in Business Administration from Florida Atlantic University in 1995, and her Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction in Mathematics in 2002. Her hobbies include spending time with her family, participation in church activities, and watching sporting events (from little league to high school to professional level). She has been married for almost 15 years to her high school sweetheart and has an eight year old daughter.

Cathy Wilson teaches junior high art in the mornings and writing and art in juvenile corrections in the afternoons. She is the mother of nine children, almost all grown. She and her husband Russell live on three acres in desert Utah.

Esther Wojcicki, a journalism teacher at Palo Alto High School in Palo Alto, California, was named the California Teacher of the Year in 2002. In her time at Palo Alto, Esther has transformed the journalism program there from a small enterprise involving 19 students and a typewriter to a three-part program consisting of Broadcast Journalism, Magazine Journalism, and Newspaper Journalism. It is the largest journalism program in the country, involving almost 400 students and three journalism teachers, and it has garnered extensive national recognition. For example, The Campanile, the student newspaper she advises, was chosen as the most outstanding high school newspaper in the nation by Time Magazine and Time for Kids in 2002, and the website won two Webby Awards in 2005 (voice.paly.net). Esther has written for several different publications, including The Los Angeles Times and Time magazine, and has been the recipient of numerous awards. She received her Bachelor of the Arts and Master of Journalism degrees at University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of the Arts in Education Computer Technology at San Jose State University, in addition to completing several other programs at other schools.