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Changing the Conversation about Education
IDAHO HUMANITIES COUNCIL TO HONOR TWO MERIDIAN TEACHERS
Siena Elementary School teacher Heide Fry and Centennial High School teacher Cindy Wilson will receive awards in May from the Idaho Humanities Council for "Outstanding Teaching of the Humanities." The two Meridian School District teachers will be recognized because of their passion for the humanities, their ability to inspire students through their love of their subject, their innovative teaching methods, and their contributions to the teaching profession. Each teacher will receive $1,000 for personal use and $1,000 for her school to devote to improving the teaching of the humanities.
Heide Fry has taught at Meridian's Siena Elementary School for the last five years, currently teaching fifth grade. As a US History teacher, Fry has attended several "We the People" teacher institutes through the Center for Civic Education. She has worked with the testing department in the Meridian School District to develop the "We the People Simulated Congressional Hearing" program as an option for the assessment of learning and comprehension in the district. Over half the district classrooms now choose the option to teach to their students. Fry also has taught the "We the People" program to many teachers in the district.
The Idaho Humanities Council will present Fry with her award for "Outstanding Teaching of the Humanities" on the elementary level and honor her among fellow teachers, students, family, and friends on Thursday, May 23, at 4 p.m., at the Siena Elementary School Library.
Cindy Wilson has taught government and citizenship for most of her 29-year teaching career, including the last six years at Meridian's Centennial High School. She has revised the American government curriculum for the Meridian School District, introduced a new course called "Citizenship in the 21st Century," and created the school's "Political Action Club." Wilson has been recognized as Idaho Human Rights Educator of the Year (2010), and Meridian School District's Teacher of the Year (2010-2011). Wilson has been a mentor at the Idaho Human Rights Conference, at the Indiana Law Foundation's Project Citizen Workshop, and she has presented at conferences of the National Council for the Social Studies.
The Idaho Humanities Council will present Wilson with her award for "Outstanding Teaching of the Humanities" on the secondary level at a ceremony at the Centennial High School Library on Monday, May 20th at 3:00 p.m.
The Idaho Humanities Council is a non-profit organization that serves as the state-based partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The IHC is dedicated to promoting greater public awareness, appreciation, and understanding of literature, history, law, ethics, languages, and other humanities disciplines. In addition to funding hundreds of humanities projects and programs every year throughout Idaho, and honoring outstanding teaching, the Council sponsors an annual weeklong summer institute in the humanities for K-12 teachers, exploring such topics as Idaho history, the literary works of John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, and Mark Twain, the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, the history of the Supreme Court, and more.
For more information about the IHC's biennial Outstanding Teaching of the Humanities Awards or about the Council's other programs, visit the IHC's website at www.idahohumanities.org.
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SUPPORT FOR EDUCATORS
Teach Idaho provides resources that work for you. - Learning communities that connect teachers by grade level and subject matter.
- Information on professional development
- Links to lessons and curricula
- Mentoring for new teachers and ABCTE teachers
- A network of retired “Master” teachers who can help you with research, lesson development, or classroom management techniques.
Master teachers include: - Bob Firman, Westinghouse Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching, First "on-line" Math Instructor in Idaho
- Patricia Pierose, Language Arts Teacher
- Judy Samer, Language Arts
- Jim Coughlin, Language Arts Teacher of the Year
- Mark Purdy, Chemistry Teacher, Albertson Foundation Technology Fellow
- Denise Dunne, K-4 Master Teacher
- Jennifer Kurdy, Autism Specialist
- Michael Kurdy, Social Studies Master Teacher, School-within-a-School Specialist
- Chris Niebrand, Peer Assistant Program, Founder and Past Director
- Liza Long, Past Chair of General Education, Brown-Mackey, writer
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