PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES AND AWARDS: Began teaching Grade 2 in 1989 at Washington Township. Selected for Christa McAuliffe Fellowship, 1997; Point of Excelence Award from Kappa Delta Pi, 1996; Indiana Department of Education math/Science Grants in 1993 and 1995.

PERSONAL: Husband - Donald P. Atwood Jr., is also a teacher. Mother of three children, Alexander, 6; Megan, 4, and Bradley, 1. Member and lector at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Kouts, and sponsor of an 11-year old child in Belfast through the Irish Children's Fund.

EXCERPTS from comments by colleagues: Known as "our pioneer of the Internet," Stacey Atwood is the leader for innovative technology and a key in a district-wide curriculum revision. She uses a new phonics program called "Making Words," and her second graders read and share with each other from 200 books during a year, selecting from a list 15 pages long. One book about ducks led to hatching duck eggs in an incubator with the students checking temperatures, turning eggs, and working as a group - stretching their thinking in a project encompassing science, math, and writing. One student made a videotape of the eggs hatching, then incorporated a digital picture into a HyperStudio project that won a media fair contest. Other students take pictures with a digital camera, then learn computer word-processing by writing creative stories to go with the pictures. She brings out everyone's best, both in gifted/talented students and in students with learning disabilities. She worked on her own time this year with one boy who was frustrated and upset; she wants all children to love learning. She is always optimistic. She is instrumental in training other teachers in authentic assessment techniques, portfolio development, and teaching writing skills for ISTEP+. She uses a half-dozen high school students daily to help manage classroom activities and knows how to get parents involved in activities. She is always "pushing the envelope" and blazing a new trail.