Jared Polis Foundation Education Report: People

Every year, the Jared Polis Foundation looks forward to National Teacher Appreciation week to honor outstanding teachers through our annual award ceremony. On May 10th, we held our seventh annual Teacher Recognition Awards Ceremony at the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster and celebrated 16 hard-working, talented teachers from schools across the Front Range. Each demonstrated innovative and effective ways to inspire students to learn and a commitment to working collaboratively with colleagues to create a positive school environment.

These teachers stand out for their tireless and creative efforts to improve student achievement. Through their remarkable dedication they have inspired and transformed students’ lives and these awards represent the community’s recognition of their hard work helping kids realize their full potential. Outstanding teachers embody the best of the education community and we are grateful for their work to build a brighter future for our children.

Each teacher received a $1,000 award and each of their respective schools received a $1,000 operating grant as well. “I was honored to receive a 2007 Jared Polis Teacher Award because I know how much our school will benefit from the funds,” said Abbi Kaplan, a 2007 honoree from Hinckley High School in Aurora. Abbi teaches English, Humanities and Journalism, and spends many hours after school running the school newspaper and teaching students to edit, proofread and lay out the paper. “I decided to allocate the $1,000 toward our newspaper budget in order to create a more extensive publication next year. Students who work on the newspaper were thrilled to hear about the upcoming improvements.”

More than 200 people, including awardees, nominees, and their families and colleagues attended the event and enjoyed a free tour of the wonderful butterfly pavilion. David DuVall, Executive Director of the Colorado Education Association, was also there and he recognized the honorees.

Recipients of the Teacher Recognition Awards were selected from 109 nominations submitted by colleagues, students, parents, and other members of their school communities, and were reviewed by an external review committee. The committee’s members included Gina Nocera, Executive Director of the Jared Polis Foundation; Laurie Hanson, Program Manager for Impact on Education; Dr. Leticia Alonso de Lozano, who teaches at Boulder High School and was a 2006 Jared Polis Foundation Teacher. Recognition Awards honoree; Tori Merritts, immediate past president of the Jefferson Foundation and former Jeffco School Board member; Kathy Kelly, Executive Director of the District 50 Education Foundation; and Jared Polis Foundation intern Kristin Bugbee.

“The tremendous response we received to our call for nominations clearly shows that our communities recognize exceptional teachers and appreciate their commitment to Colorado’s students,” said Gina Nocera. “We were impressed by the number and quality of this year’s nominees and look forward to an even greater pool next year. We will continue to engage communities and raise awareness about the need to thank the backbone of our education system, the wonderful teachers in Colorado schools.”

2007 Jared Polis Foundation Teacher Recognition Honorees:

• Kristen Jones, Boulder High School, Boulder Valley School District
• Julie Marquez, Lafayette Elementary School, Boulder Valley School District
• Kathy Claybaugh-Norgaard, Martinez Elementary School, District 11 Colorado Springs
• Toni Burger, Bear Creek Elementary, Boulder Valley School District
• Anne Turnacliff, Fireside Elementary, Boulder Valley School District
• Trish Loeblein, Evergreen High School, Jefferson County School District
• Thad Dingman, Superior Elementary School, Boulder Valley School District
• David Tanaka, Pioneer Elementary, Boulder Valley School District
• Jayne Treat Vahle, Bear Creek Senior High School, Jefferson County School District
• Kimberlee Ryan, Boulder High School, Boulder Valley School District
• Tina Falconer, Ranum High School, Adams 50 School District
• Shelly Krill, Stargate Middle School, Adams 12 School District
• Lisa Hecox, Everitt Middle School, Jefferson County School District
• Abbi Kaplan, Hinckley High School, Aurora Public School
• Tanya Hale, Alsup Elementary School, Adams 14 School District
• Maryann Schafer, Fireside Elementary School, Boulder Valley School District

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