Members in the News

PAGE Member Leanne Maule Named 2009 Georgia Teacher of the Year

Cartersville High School English Teacher Leanne Maule was named the 2009 Georgia Teacher of the Year Friday, May 9, 2008. Her selection was announced by State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox at the Georgia Teacher of the Year banquet held Friday night at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. �Congratulations to Leanne Maule and her colleagues at Cartersville High School,� Superintendent Cox said. �Leanne is creative, has a passion for education and a heart for the struggling learner. She is an excellent choice for Georgia Teacher of the Year.�

As the state Teacher of the Year, Maule will spend the 2008-2009 school year on special assignment, serving as an ambassador and advocate for the teaching profession. She will give presentations to other educators, as well as business and community leaders, and represent Georgia teachers at state and national conferences. She will also be Georgia�s entry in the 2009 National Teacher of the Year competition.  

Maule claims that her own experience as someone who struggled in school motivated her to become a teacher. �I made a vow to myself that I would strive to become the high school teacher ... who saw every child's potential,� she said. �My students know that I genuinely have their best interests at heart.�

Pictured above (left to right) Cartersville High School Principal Jay Floyd, 2009 Georgia Teacher of the Year Leanne Maule and State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox.

Lowndes Middle School Teacher Named National Excellence in Classroom Teaching Award Recipient

Pi Lambda Theta recently awarded Amy Cozart, Lowndes Middle School teacher, been named the 2008 recipient of the Janyce Yoshizawa Excellence in Classroom Teaching Award. Pi Lambda Theta is the most selective national honor society of educators and a contributing body to quality assurance in education. Cozart will receive $1,000 for this honor.

Cozart is also the 2008 Lowndes Middle School Teacher of The Year. She has been teaching at Lowndes Middle since 2000. During this time she has served as a team leader, English academic monitor, and student teacher supervisor. She has also been a recipient of the Lowndes Education Foundation Grant.

Lowndes Middle School principal, Sam Clemons, states, �Amy finds many rewards in being a member of the teaching profession. She is able to enrich and educate the students who are the future of our community, country, and world. Not only does she experience fulfillment in working with her students, she is also able to contribute to the improvement of the teaching profession. Her classroom is alive with the energy of 12-year-olds; her students are actively engaged. Her enthusiasm and her love of learning flows from her classroom. This enthusiasm is contagious.� Mr. Clemons went on to say, �Amy Cozart represents the best in education. In her classroom, Amy urges her students not to settle for good enough. She pushes them to excel.�

PAGE Past-President Retires from Teaching After 39 Years

PAGE Past President Jan Goodloe (center) retires from City Schools of Decatur after 39 years of dedicated service. On hand to wish her well during the School Board monthly meeting and to present Mrs. Goodloe with a gift from PAGE is Tom Wommack, PAGE Director of Legal and Legislative Services, and Shirley Wright, PAGE Membership Services Representative for District 4.

Jefferson County High's Dr. Molly Howard Named
National High School Principal of the Year

Jefferson County High School's Dr. Molly Howard took a struggling school and within three years converted it into a dramatic example of how a school can reinvent itself. For her exemplary work, Howard was the National High School Principal of the Year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

“Molly Howard is a great school leader and it shows not only in the performance of her students, but also in the quality of students they produce, said Kathy Cox at the ceremony. I am so proud of the great work going on at Jefferson County High School. I know Molly shares this award with her outstanding teachers, staff and students.

Dr. Howard is pictured above with (left to right) Ricky Clemmons, PAGE HSRI Assistant Director Rachel Jones, PAGE MSR and Tom Wommack, PAGE Director of Legal & Legislative Services)

PAGE Members Participate in Blackwell Writing Project

This summer, PAGE members Rebecca Elmore of Hahira Middle School, Sonya Riley of Moulton Branch Elementary School, and Sheri Dorsett of Fitzgerald High School, participated as fellows in the Blackwater Writing Project 2007. The Blackwater Writing Project, housed within the Valdosta State University English Department, and in collaboration with the VSU College of Education, was created for experienced, highly recommended teachers in 13 counties of the regional area to teach and learn from each other about writing for both personal and professional reasons. After intense leadership training, those teachers (called Teacher Consultants or TCs) are available to create professional workshops for school systems who wish to improve their literacy rates with limited budgets in mind.