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Taye Diggs

Taye Diggs' dance teacher MaryLee Miller caught his attention by treating him as her equal. She taught him to earn artistic freedom through discipline and to strive to make every performance his best–lessons he's carried with him ever since.

Behind Every Famous Person is a Fabulous Teacher.

Program and Partner News

May 2009—Musician Carrie Underwood and Actor Sophia Bush Join PSA Campaign
Carrie Underwood, four-time Grammy Award winner and winner of the fourth season of American Idol, is joined by her mother and former teacher Carole Underwood, and sisters Stephanie Shelton and Shanna Means, who are both teachers, in TeachersCount's "Behind Every Famous Person is a Fabulous Teacher" campaign. Carole Underwood is retired, Stephanie Shelton teaches at Lipscomb Elementary School in Brentwood, Tennessee and Shanna Means teaches at Liberty Elementary in Mounds, Oklahoma. Sophia Bush, who stars in the TV show One Tree Hill and movies such as The Hitcher and John Tucker Must Die, appears with her English teacher Peter Goss. Mr. Goss is an English teacher at Sandia Prep in Albuquerque, NM.
April/May 2009—400,000 Posters Distributed by Scholastic
TeachersCount partnered with Scholastic to send out 400,000 "Behind Every Famous Person is a Fabulous Teacher" campaign posters to virtually all schools nationwide for Teacher Appreciation week. The Spring 2009 edition of posters included actor Jeremy Piven, NFL star Brian Waters, actor Cheryl Hines, and R&B artist Ne-Yo. Another round of posters featuring different famous faces is scheduled for the 2009 Back to School distribution.
February 2009—R&B Artist Ne-Yo Joins PSA Campaign
R&B artist Ne-Yo and his high school visual arts teacher Carol Treat joined the "Behind Every Famous Person is a Fabulous Teacher" campaign. Ne-Yo is an acclaimed pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, actor, and occasional rapper. Ne-Yo has received fourteen Grammy Award nominations, including four wins. In 2009, he took home three Grammies, including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song for “Miss Independent,” and Best Contemporary R&B Album for Growing Pains. Ms. Carol Treat teaches at the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies, Performing and Visual Arts, a fine arts magnet high school. She teaches a wide variety of media and techniques including technical skills of drawing and painting, art history, art aesthetics and concepts of design.
February 2009—TeachersCount Attends the ProBowl to Add Brian Waters to the PSA Campaign
TeachersCount was at the 2009 Pro Bowl on the fifty yard line before the game to recognize NFL star Brian Water's winning submission to this year’s Teacher of the Year program. Brian is a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time first team All-Pro left guard for the Kansas City Chiefs. His entry detailed the impact of his high school Spanish teacher Mr. George Solis, from Waxahachie, TX. To help recognize Mr. Solis' impact on Brian's life, they have joined the "Behind Every Famous Person is a Fabulous Teacher" campaign.
November 2008—Ellen Berg Joins our TeachersBlog
Ellen Berg has twelve years of middle school English teaching experience in the cities of St. Louis, Missouri and San Diego, California. Mrs. Berg is a former WaMu Fellow for Teacher Leaders Network, 2004 Teacher of the Year for her former middle school in St. Louis, and published author of several articles in several education journals.In St. Louis, she taught sixth grade English in a city school with a free-reduced lunch rate of 95%. She currently teaches eighth grade English and history at San Diego Cooperative Charter School, a successful K-8 charter that focuses on constructivist teaching practices and active parent involvement at the classroom and decision-making levels of the school.
September 2008—Devereux Chatillon Joins the TeachersCount Board
Devereux Chatillon is currently the General Counsel and Senior Vice President at Scholastic Inc., the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books and a leader in educational technology and children’s media. At Scholastic, Ms. Chatillon is in charge of the legal affairs for the entire company. She received her J.D. from the NYU School of Law after earning her A.B. from Harvard University, and began her career at Cahill Gordon and Rendell. She also has held prominent positions at ABC Inc., The New Yorker, Miramax and Sonnenschein, Nath and Rosenthal.
August/September 2008—TeachersCount sends 200,000 more posters out to nation's schools
The Back to School edition of "Behind Every Famous Person Is a Fabulous Teacher" campaign posters went out to schools nationwide. To execute this new program, TeachersCount partnered with McGraw-Hill Education, which used its in-school distribution network to send out 200,000 free posters to schools. TeachersCount distributed additional free posters to individual educators upon request. This second round of posters featured actor James Franco, NFL star Eddie Kennison, fashion designer Zac Posen and WNBA star Michelle Snow. Another round of posters featuring differnt famous faces is scheduled for the 2009 Teacher Week distribution.
April 2008—Actor Taye Diggs and NFL Quarterback Steve Young Join Campaign
Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young picked English teacher Charles Reich as his favorite teacher and joined him in the latest ad of the "Behind Every Famous Person Is a Fabulous Teacher" Campaign. Actor Taye Diggs of the show Private Practice has also recently joined the campaign. He selected dance instructor Mary Lee Miller as his favorite teacher.
April 2008—TeachersCount welcomes four new teacher-bloggers
After putting out a call for paid teacher-bloggers, TeachersCount received blogging applications from over sixty educators. The four best were chosen and are now blogging alongside Esther Wocicki, our established teacher-blogger, on http://teacherscount.wordpress.com.
March/April 2008—TeachersCount sends 200,000 posters out to nation's schools
The "Behind Every Famous Person Is a Fabulous Teacher" Campaign now appears on posters that adorn the nation's classrooms. To execute this new program, TeachersCount partnered with McGraw-Hill Education, which used its in-school distribution network to send out 200,000 free posters to schools. TeachersCount distributed additional free posters to individual educators upon request. This first round of posters featured rapper Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault, actress America Ferrera, and actor Tony Shalhoub. Another big round of posters featuring different famous faces is scheduled for the 2008 Back-to-School season.
February 2008—Eddie Kennison and NFL Teacher of the Year join campaign
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Eddie Kennison and his teacher, Jacquelyn Stevens (who is the NFL Teacher of the Year), have joined the "Behind Every Famous Person Is a Fabulous Teacher" Campaign. This is the second year in a row that TeachersCount has helped honor the NFL Teacher of the Year. As part of the partnership between TeachersCount and the NFL, Diana Burroughs (TeachersCount's Executive Director) traveled to Hawaii and participated in the pre-game ceremony of the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl, in which Mrs. Stevens was honored.
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