2005-2006 |
MRA Educator and Literacy Award Recipients |
| The Michigan Reading Association
recognizes individuals and organizations that demonstrate outstanding leadership
in the field of literacy. Congratulations to the award recipients! |
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| LITERACY AWARD – INDIVIDUAL |
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Cheryl Vukelich |
| Ishpeming High School |
| Ishpeming School District |
| Not only is Cheryl Vukelich an exceptional, hard-working,
dedicated, and conscientious librarian at Ishpeming High School,
she has also been very active in the community at large.
Cheryl begins the school year with a bang at Ishpeming High
School by hosting an open house to introduce new books in the library.
The students visit throughout the week to participate in contests,
view new books, and enjoy cider, coffee, and cookies. During the year, students participate in Banned Book Week, Black
History Month, National Women’s Month, National Poetry Month and National
Fitness Month. Cheryl encouraged
teachers to support student participation in Silent Sustained Reading
on Fridays. When Ishpeming Public Library celebrated its 100th
anniversary, Cheryl and her students actively participated in the
library’s centennial. Cheryl
not only wanted her students to be able to use the school’s library,
but the community as well. She
and students actively promoted extending library hours for community
use. The Michigan Reading Association congratulates, Cheryl Vukelich,
as the Individual Literacy Award recipient for 2006. |
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| LITERACY AWARD – AGENCY/INSTITUTION |
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St. Clair County Library System – Youth Services Division |
Back row:
L to R:
Lynn Andrews, Diane Letourneau, Sue Kulman, Joni
LeRoy, Beth Sutton, Judy Weaver and Jayme Tarzwe |
Front row:
L to R:
Veronica Ruck, Janet Rose,
Kathy Andersen & Faith Wormsbacher |
| Not pictured are Kathy Wall and Kim Bates |
| The St. Clair County Library System-Youth Division has
made it easy and fun to promote literacy services to the children
and their families in the area. The
eleven branches have worked together to initiate a number of programs
to help every child become a reader.
Preschool children come to the library and enjoy a program
called Lapsit. The program includes short stories, finger
plays, songs, and nursery rhymes.
Over 3000 children attended this in 2004. Older children are
invited to attend Kids Kreations, which involves listening
to a story and crafting a project related to the story. The youth
services division partnered with the Economic Opportunity Committee
and the St. Clair County Regional Education Service Agency in offering
Literacy Days. These programs target parents with children, ages birth through
five, helping them learn how to encourage reading with their children.
One program, The Dial-A-Story has been a great hit with parents
and children. As one parent stated, “The Dial-A-Story is
a new feature that we really enjoy.”
The Michigan Reading Association congratulates, The St. Clair
County Library System–Youth Services Division, as the 2006 Institution
Literacy Award recipients. |
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| TEACHER K-6 AWARD |
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Ann-Patrice Egan |
| Algonac Elementary School |
| Algonac Community Schools |
| “Teaching reading is a satisfying, fascinating, and
challenging adventure that has kept me stimulated my entire career.” These words from Ann-Patrice Egan describe
her passion to help her first graders get a strong start towards a
lifetime of reading. For over thirty years Ann-Patrice has shared
her enthusiasm and creativity not only with her students, but also
with fellow educators at St. Clair Regional Education Service Agency
with the production of the video “Creating a Literacy Rich Environment.”
She has been a frequent presenter at local and county conferences. She shares her knowledge and love of teaching
with new teachers, mentoring them through their first few years of
teaching. Her district recognized
her contributions to education last year by honoring her as the 2005 Teacher of the Year. The Michigan Reading Association congratulates,
Ann-Patrice Egan as the recipient of the Educator Award - K-6 Teacher. |
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| TEACHER 7-12 AWARD |
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Paula Diedrich |
| Bothwell Middle School |
| Marquette Area Public Schools |
| Paula Diedrich’s words, “I want to learn,” describe
her desire to continually become the best she can be. Paula’s students at Bothwell Middle School have learned the characters
in a story connect to their own lives. She was instrumental in establishing and implementing daily directed
and leisure reading in her school. Paula has arranged for author visits,
book discussions with students and staff, and strong parent involvement.
One famous author invited to her school was Will Hobbs, author of
Jason’s Gold, River Thunder and many other adventure books. Hobbs shared his passion for writing, inspiring
the student writers. Paula also wrote a grant that allowed her to
purchase a book by Hobbs for every student and staff member. The result
of her efforts: strong parent support for the reading program and
a renewed interest and attitude in reading by students and staff.
The Michigan Reading Association congratulates Paula Dietrich
as the recipient of the Teacher Educator Award – 7-12. |
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| ADMINISTRATOR AWARD |
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Lynn Bigelman |
| Jayno Adams Elementary School |
| Waterford School District |
| Lynn’s dedication, knowledge, and persistence in providing
students with meaningful literacy experiences helped Jayno Adams Elementary
achieve outstanding results. Lynn is constantly looking for ways to promote
reading for her students. Lynn
acquired grants to bring her staff with her to study at Teachers College
at Columbia University, which changed the literacy development in
her school. “Learning Lunch” opportunities opened the door
for teachers, student interns, and support staff to study together
to find new ways in which to increase student achievement. Last year,
Lynn’s school received the IRA
Exemplary Reading Award for 2005.
Her dedication and love of literacy goes beyond her school,
students, and district. Lynn is the President of Oakland County Reading
Council and a Member-at Large for the Michigan Reading Association.
The Michigan Reading Association congratulates Lynn Bigelman
as the recipient of the Educator Award - Administrator.
Ask Lynn about Uncle Sam.
She has a great story to share. |
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| ADULT EDUCATOR AWARD |
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Kenneth J. Helinski |
| Language Arts Teacher |
| St. Clair County Intervention Academy |
| Ken’s 34 years of experience as reading instructor,
curriculum director, and superintendent helped him meet a new challenge
as he began teaching at the Intervention Academy.
he words of one student really make the case for Ken’s extraordinary
leadership. “I think the Intervention
Academy was the best thing to happen to me while I was in jail. It helped keep me ‘sane’ knowing somebody other
than my immediate family cared about me.
My favorite assignment was reading the book Live Like you
Were Dying.” Ken buys
books, donates books, and does library trips/requests for inmates
to facilitate reading needs. Ken’s individual approach to students
is, “Show them you care and then you can teach them.”
His leadership and deep knowledge about the field of reading
makes him the Outstanding Adult Educator for 2005.
The Michigan Reading congratulates Ken Helinski as the Adult
Educator for 2006. |
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| TEACHER EDUCATOR AWARD |
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Dr. Sandra Imdieke |
| Professor: School of Education |
| Northern Michigan University |
| “I am one of the lucky ones because my passion is my
profession.” These words from
Sandra express her love for helping teachers become great educators. Sandra believes teaching is grounded in the
world of practice. Some of her teaching occurs on-site in schools,
giving pre-service teachers opportunities to learn course content
in a realistic setting. From 1992 to 1999 Sandra was involved in the
International Reading Association Teacher’s Choices Project. This
project involved the entire community. Local educators worked in teams
with Sandra in the process of reviewing books. In 2000 she was a committee
member for selecting the Caldecott Award winner and recently she was
appointed to the 2006 Newberry Award selection committee. Sandra is a true example of a state and national
leader. The Michigan Reading
Association congratulates Dr. Sandra Imdieke as the recipient of the
2006 Teacher Educator Award. |
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Award Committee Chair: Marcia K. Klemp
Committee: Erin Donovan, Patti Konaska, Roberta Rickett, Linda Rulison,
and Sue Sharma. |
