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Salt Lake City School District and Board of Education Announce Teacher of the Year and Special Education Teacher of the Year
The Salt Lake City School District and the Salt Lake City Board of Education today announced Mary Jane Morris as the 2010 District Teacher of the Year and Noreen Mullen as the 2010 District Special Education Teacher of the Year.
Mary Jane Morris, a teacher at Northwest Middle School, has 33 years of teaching experience and currently has the assignment of being elective teacher and co-facilitator for the AVID program – Achievement Via Individual Determination. She works with 60 students who will be the first in their families to attend college. With the support of Salt Lake Education Foundation, Mary Jane has written and published The Book of SUCCESS: Strategies to Use for Creating Confident, Efficient, Successful Students. She and a colleague, along with their students, initiated a club called KIDS C.A.N. Kids for Community Action Now hopes to change community perception about the children of immigrants. Another project Morris and her students initiated is the Northwest Neighborhood Hero Awards. This program gives students the opportunity to say thank you to individuals who have been personal mentors, cheerleaders, advisors, and advocates in their lives.
Noreen Mullen, a special education teacher at Dilworth Elementary School, provides services to children with a variety of special needs from kindergarten to sixth grade. Each student has unique challenges and skills. Noreen focuses on the ability of the student and not the disability. Noreen is an active member of the school community and has been a strong advocate for her students and all students with disabilities. She invokes respect because of her incredible work and the respect she shows to those around her.
Both Morris and Mullen were selected after a rigorous screening and interview process. A committee of Salt Lake Education Foundation members, district employees, and community representatives made the selections. Both teachers will be recognized and honored during the Salt Lake City Board of Education meeting on August 11, 2009. Morris will receive $2,000 from the Salt Lake Education Foundation. In some school districts, special education teachers are not recognized separately, but thanks to an anonymous donor, Mullen will receive a $1,000 check.
