PLT Outstanding Educators

Sally was selected as 1 of 5 National PLT Outstanding Educators. Congratulations, Sally!!!

Sally will be honored at the PLT International Coordinators' Conference in South Carolina in June. She'll receive free registration to this conference and an all-expenses-paid trip to the World Forestry Center's summer institute for teachers in Oregon.

Sally, (left with 1999 Outstanding Educator, Beverly Richard) Science Teacher at Seabrook Intermediate School in Clear Creek ISD is also the Department Chairperson for Seabrook Intermediate, an Adjunct Professor at University of Houston Clear Lake (UHCL), and the Air/Energy Curriculum Specialist for the Environmental Institute of Houston. She is recognized for her innovation in using PLT in her science classes and in professional development workshops for pre-service and in-service teachers. She teaches the Science Methods class at UHCL in the summer to prospective science teachers and has numerous college education majors visit her classroom to observe her teaching style and methods. She is the recipient of other outstanding teacher awards from the Clear Creek ISD, Region IV, the City of Houston, and twice from the Rotary Club. As a lead curriculum writer at her school district, she uses the environment thematically to drive the curriculum at her school and other middle schools in the district. Ms. Wall integrates PLT into all of her classes at Seabrook and UHCL, focusing on teaching the problem-solving skills that students need to make informed decisions about environmental issues.

2000
Dianna Christine "Sofi" Teston, a 5th and 6th grade social studies teacher at Anderson-Shiro Elementary was selected as Outstanding Educator for a number of reasons. She has been instrumental in incorporating PLT into her current school’s social studies curriculum and her former school’s science curriculum. Her hands-on approach to teaching helps her students meet state goals and objectives while being completely engaged in learning. Her innovative use of PLT activities in developing curriculum is truly outstanding; her dedication to providing PLT, beyond the classroom, to groups throughout her community is exceptional. In her own words, "Educating people, especially children, is a fascination and addiction for me. The sense of wonderment and awe that is expressed and the desire to know are a treasure I am privileged to see daily. This is the main reason why I have enjoyed using PLT activities so much in my lessons – they feed the excitement and desire to know."

1999
Beverly Richard was a kindergarten teacher at Travis Elementary in the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District at the time of her award. She used PLT activities with her students for a number of years and became recognized as "Mother Nature" on her campus. Her class did a special project called "Popcorn Economics" where they formed a company, secured a bank loan, made and popped popcorn and sold it to the school. The profits were used to buy trees for the campus. This inspired the PTO to purchase more trees. As a final legacy to Travis Elementary, Beverly secured a grant to establish a small nature center on campus. She has done PLT activities for civic organizations as well as a countywide session at the county library. She served on the curriculum committee for her district to insure that PLT would be an integral part of the long-range plans for many more children. Her new position is as Teacher Facilitator of Accelerated Reading Instruction for the Lamar District. Looks like all those sessions as a PLT facilitator were good training! She serves on the State Steering Committee for Texas PLT and volunteers at TCI as a session leader. "PLT will always be an important part of my life and I encourage all teachers to give it a try", Richard says.

1998
Charlotte Morris is the Director of the Even Start Family Literacy Program in the Diboll School District and a former 6^th, 3^rd, and 5^th grade classroom teacher. Charlotte was selected as the Outstanding Educator for the extra effort she puts forth in providing students in 2^nd through 5^th grade unique opportunities. Throughout the school year Ms. Morris provides the elementary students whose parents participate in her family literacy program special field trips. The Even Start Program serves families of low-income status with educational needs such as learning the English language. At least twice a semester the students are taken on hikes, tours, or other activities that provide experiences they would not have otherwise received. Charlotte believes that the "outdoors is the most important classroom in the world." When students attend these trips they participate in PLT activities led by both her and a local forester, Bernhard Buckner, a Temple-Inland forester who has worked with this program each year. Ms. Morris has an Enviro-Math Summer Camp each summer. This is a 4-day, 3-night trip for elementary students both in the Even Start Program and the Diboll Housing Authority. Students spend a week bunked at the Piney Woods Conservation Center and receive full days of PLT activities, guest speakers, canoeing, and fishing. Frank Shockley of the Stephen F. Austin College of Forestry and Susie Shockley of the Texas Forest Service are the other PLT instructors at this camp. This camp has been a meaningful experience for students both educationally and socially. The hands on activities go with them for the rest of their life.

1997 Gayle Lovvorn, a 5th grade teacher from Reynolds Elementary in Stamford, was selected as the Outstanding Educator because she correlated her science and social studies curriculum to the PLT guide. Because of her recognition, Mrs. Lovvorn was sponsored by Cal-Tex Lumber Co. to attend a teacher's workshop in Northern California

1996 Frances Howard is a fourth grade reading and social studies teacher at De Leon Elementary School in De Leon, Texas. She was chosen as the first Outstanding PLT Educator in Texas in 1996. She was also named one of five national PLT Outstanding Educators in 1997. Frances utilizes many of the PLT activities in her classroom to prepare her students for the TAAS test. She is also a facilitator for PLT and has trained most of the teachers in her school. Her main goal for using PLT in the classroom is to change her students' attitudes toward the environment and to allow them to enjoy what they are learning. Her students love the "hands-on" type of learning that is associated with PLT