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Reed Announces 2006 Indiana Teacher of the Year
For over ten years, Louisa LaGrotto has devoted herself to creating and cultivating a world language culture in her sixth- to eighth-grade Spanish classroom at Westlane Middle School. Today, those efforts were rewarded as Dr. Suellen Reed, Superintendent of Public Instruction, named LaGrotto the 2006 Indiana Teacher of the Year. The announcement came during a surprise visit to Westlane, which is part of the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township in Indianapolis. Westlane Principal Linda Lawrence and Interim Superintendent Dr. Stephen Tegarden joined Dr. Reed in a special convocation held in LaGrotto’s honor. “Mrs. LaGrotto has a true passion for language, and that passion is exemplified – and contagious – in her teaching,” Dr. Reed said. “Through her dedication, she is encouraging diversity and cultural understanding that will serve Hoosier students well in our global community, and we are proud to have her representing Indiana education.” LaGrotto was nominated by then-Superintendent Eugene White, who described her in a letter of support as a “catalyst for academic challenge and excellence.” Principal Lawrence agreed, writing: “She is a vehicle of excellence. She exemplifies the best and the brightest.” As the 2006 Indiana Teacher of the Year, LaGrotto will receive $1,000 from Indiana Farm Bureau and scholarship opportunities from Ball State University, Indiana State University, and Indiana University. In addition, she will have the option to become a Teacher in Residence for one year with the Indiana Department of Education. LaGrotto will also represent Indiana at the national competition in Washington, D.C. next spring. The SMARTer Kids Foundation of Canada will present the National Teacher of the Year with a technology package valued at approximately $5,000, which will include a SMART Board™ interactive whiteboard and SMART Ideas® concept mapping software (from SMART Technologies, Inc.), an NEC® VT projector (from NEC Solutions America – Visual Systems Division), and a Dana laptop alternative (from AlphaSmart, Inc.). The 2006 Indiana Teacher of the Year Runner-up is Jane C. Newblom of the Marion-Adams School District in Sheridan. Newblom teaches business education to students in grades 9 – 12 at Sheridan High School. Newblom will receive $500 from Indiana Farm Bureau and a leather attachè case from Brenner Luggage, plus a framed certificate from the Department of Education. Each of the ten finalists receives $100 and will also receive SMART Ideas software from the SMARTer Kids Foundation of Canada. The Indiana Teacher of the Year program is sponsored by the Indiana Department of Education, the Indiana Farm Bureau, Inc., the Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance Companies, the SMARTer Kids Foundation, and Scholastic Inc. The National Teacher of the Year Program, presented by the ING Foundation, is a project of the Council of Chief State School Officers and sponsored by Scholastic Inc. Local school superintendents nominated 53 public and nonpublic educators as the 2006 Indiana Teacher of the Year. All nominees will be honored November 2, 2005, at the Hilton Indianapolis North (formerly the Omni North) at a dinner hosted by the Indiana Department of Education and the program's corporate sponsors. Nominations for the Teacher of the Year program are
requested each year from all local school For more information on Indiana’s Teacher of
the Year program, please visit: Attachments:
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Indiana Department of Education |
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