Past Outstanding Young Educator Award Recipients

Deirdra Grode

2008 Outstanding Young Educator Award Recipient

Deirdra in the news:

• Education World
• Education Week
• Hoboken Now
• Harrisburg Patriot-News

Learn more about Deirdra and view the ASCD press release.

Joris Ray

2007 Outstanding Young Educator Award Recipient

Since receiving the Outstanding Young Educator Award, I have been inundated with e-mails and telephone calls from educators around the world requesting information about our program. I have been interviewed and featured in several local and national magazines and newspapers. I used some of my award money to start the "Ray of Hope" Scholarship Fund. I was able to award two seniors at Stafford Academy with a scholarship for $1,000.

Moreover, Governor Phil Bredesen appointed me to his State Advisory Committee on Alternative Education. I will aid the governor in recommending policy to benefit alternative schools across the state of Tennessee. Recently, Cheryl Cathey, special projects coordinator for alternative schools, assisted me in conducting a bone marrow drive in conjunction with St. Jude Children's Hospital. With service learning as a special focus of the alternative schools program, this Service Over Self initiative provided our students with the opportunity to promote greater community awareness of the need to become a registered bone marrow donor. Our students, as well as staff, worked tirelessly to promote awareness of the bone marrow process and integrated what they learned into the curriculum.

Learn more about Joris.

Charles Coleman

2006 Outstanding Young Educator Award Recipient

Maintaining the momentum of a results-based learning community at Khowhemun Elementary has been my main priority since receiving the Outstanding Young Educator Award recognition from ASCD. Our collaborative efforts have focused on differentiated instruction for our most at-risk individuals. Recently, I became principal of a middle school where we continue to build a results-based learning community.

While serving on district leadership committees, I have helped develop instructional leadership initiatives at all school sites. This has resulted in a great deal of capacity building across the district. Our Ministry of Education also asked me to support the school improvement cycle through two provincewide webcasts.

The opportunities to facilitate staff development sessions increased after being an OYEA winner. I now have the honor of sharing our results-based experiences across Canada and the United States. This includes being a professional learning community consultant for Solution Tree. I also returned to the ASCD Annual Conference as a presenter.

Learn more about Charles.

Pete Hall

2005 Outstanding Young Educator Award Recipient

Shortly after I received the honor of ASCD's OYEA award, Anderson Elementary School in Reno, Nev., where I was principal, celebrated its 50th anniversary with a grand gala. To kick off the fundraising efforts, I donated $5,000 of the OYEA award to the Anderson Literacy Fund, which that night netted a poetic $50,050.

I am currently the principal of Sheridan Elementary, a Title I school in Spokane, Washington. My wife, Mindy, and I established EducationHall, an education consulting service that provides support and professional development for schools and districts nationwide. The exposure provided by the OYEA award has offered me a platform to share and learn effective leadership and instructional methods. My latest project is a book geared to increase the supervisory and coaching effectiveness of school leaders that I am coauthoring with Alisa Simeral. I feel very strongly that the future of education needs some strong influences, and I hope to continue to provide that service.

Learn more about Pete.

Jennifer Morrison

2004 Outstanding Young Educator Award Recipient

After winning the OYEA in 2004, I kept teaching. At the same time, I helped plan the 2006 ASCD Annual Conference in Chicago and joined ASCD's governance as an elected member-at-large of the Leadership Council. I was also recruited by the Center for Teaching Quality as a TeacherSolutions policy consultant and, along with 17 other nationally recognized teachers, just published the group's landmark report on teacher compensation. In 2006, I was featured in ASCD's Best Practices in Action video Using Visualization to Enhance Background Knowledge. I have also written articles for Teacher Magazine and Classroom Leadership and presented regularly across the United States, focusing particularly on a new interest, empowering teachers through the use of classroom data. I just ended 10 years at Piedmont Open Middle School in order to write and begin my PhD in educational leadership. Links to my work can be found on my Art of Educating Web site.

Learn more about Jennifer.

Patrick Bathras

2003 Outstanding Young Educator Award Recipient

Thanks, ASCD, for opening doors and creating opportunities! ASCD is a reputable and established educational organization; by recognizing me for the first Outstanding Young Educator Award, it allowed me to further my professional development and career. As educators, we take on the awesome responsibility of making a difference in the lives of students. I have been fortunate to be able to enhance my professional growth and continue to build on my educational leadership.

Following my award, I was promoted to principal of Severn River Middle School in the Anne Arundel County (Md.) Public Schools, where I am entering my fourth year and working to ensure success for all students. As principal, the difference I make now isn't just in the classroom, but in the entire school. I have presented at the national, state, and local levels: as a keynote speaker for the Fairfax, Va., Mathematics Conference; as a keynote speaker for launching of the Teacher Institute at Anne Arundel Community College; on Professional Learning Communities at Maryland Principal's Academy; on Use of Student Data at Towson University's Leadership Institute; and on Decision-Making Room and Creating a Culture for Change at ASCD and NAESP's annual conferences. I have also been featured in the ASCD book The Essentials of Mathematics, Grades 7–12, by Kathy Checkley. Currently, I serve as an adjunct professor at Anne Arundel Community College, where I teach undergraduate students who are aspiring teachers.

I have been fortunate in the 15 years of my career to have experienced so much and been exposed to so many growth opportunities. My hope is that all of this allows me to enhance my professional repertoire and continue to make a difference in the lives of students.

Learn more about Patrick.