National Teacher of the Year to speak at OSU's 2007 Celebration of Teaching
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Kimberly Oliver, the 2006 National Teacher of the Year, and Oklahoma Teacher of the Year Linda Hasler-Reid will headline the 17th Annual Celebration of Teaching on April 2 at Wes Watkins Center for Oklahoma State University's College of Education.
Oliver, a kindergarten teacher at Broad Acres Elementary School in Silver Spring, Maryland, will present the keynote address “Best Foot Forward: Putting Students on the Path of Lifelong Learning” at 9 a.m. in the Student Union Theater. Her talk is free and open to the public.
Oliver, who has been teaching since 2000, achieved certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards last November. She started several programs at Broad Acres to promote consistent curriculum, instruction and assessment throughout the school, with dramatic results: In 2001, Broad Acres surpassed all other schools in the system for test score improvement.
Hasler-Reid will present “Echoes in Eternity: The Impact Teachers Have on Their Students” during the luncheon. A national board-certified teacher in world languages, she has taught Spanish, English and journalism at Muskogee Public Schools' 7th and 8th Grade Center during the past 12 years. She received her bachelor of arts degree, summa cum laude, in English education from Northeastern State University and was named Outstanding English Education Graduate.
Several past Oklahoma Teachers of the Year will be honored guests at the event. The recipient of the OKTOY Scholarship, designed for a student teaching this semester, will be recognized at the luncheon, which is by invitation only.
This year's Oklahoma District Teacher of the Year finalists and the most recently nationally certified classroom teachers were allowed to attend with up to four of their students. Also attending will be Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education ACE and LEAP Teachers (formerly the Minority Teacher Cadet Corps) and OSU College of Education cooperating teachers. First-semester teacher preparation students will attend and display posters created for the classroom. Breakout sessions will be designed to demonstrate creative teaching techniques or introduce college life.
This annual celebration is a unique opportunity for Oklahoma’s outstanding classroom teachers and their students to meet the National and State Teachers of the Year, former Oklahoma Teachers of the Year, and others uniquely dedicated to education. The celebration is sponsored by OSU, the College of Education, Education Outreach, COE Associates, Oklahoma Teachers of the Year, and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.