Richland One Announces Teacher, Staff Awards and Honors
June 4, 2015
COLUMBIA, SC – Richland One is fortunate to have many outstanding educators who achieve excellence within their field. Please join the district in congratulating its staff on the following awards and honors.
International/National/Regional Honors
Ashlynn Wittchow, an English teacher at Hand Middle School, has been selected to participate in the summer graduate program at the Oxford University campus of the Bread Loaf School of English. Ms. Wittchow will spend five weeks this summer in Oxford, England as part of an intensive professional development program centered on British and world literatures. Each summer the Bread Loaf School of English assembles a community of teachers with the aim of creating innovative and culturally responsive thinking, teaching and professional development. The program enrolls approximately 80 individuals each summer. Through the program, Ms. Wittchow will have the opportunity to embrace hands-on literary experiences through excursions to London, Stratford-upon-Avon and Canterbury.
Kirstin Bullington, a science and engineering teacher at W.J. Keenan High School, will travel to Japan in June as a participant in the Japan-U.S. Teacher Exchange Program for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Hosted by the Japan-U.S. Educational Commission, Ms. Bullington was selected from a national pool of more than 100 educators to earn this honor. The goal of the program is to deepen mutual understanding and strengthen the relationship between Japan and the United States, as well as to raise awareness of ESD-oriented school programs. From June 22-July 7, Ms. Bullington will be in a contingent of American teachers to travel in a fully-funded two-week study tour to Japan, where they will learn about Japanese culture, visit schools, participate in a home stay and meet with Japanese teachers in Tokyo for a three-day joint conference.
Margarita Martin, a social studies teacher at Olympia Learning Center, has been selected to participate in a European study-tour in June. The subsidy is granted by the South Carolina Council of Jewish Studies and the study-tour is coordinated under the auspices of the Council, the University of South Carolina, Columbia College and the S.C. Department of Education. Ms. Martin will fly to Munich on June 8 then travel by train to Salzburg, Vienna, Budapest and Prague and then on to Warsaw to meet with teachers and the staff. In Poland, she will tour several concentration camps and spend three days in Krakow. Ms. Martin also will visit the Dachau concentration camp in Germany.
A. Johnson High School biology teacher Chanda Jefferson has been selected by Harvard University to be a speaker at the 74th Annual Meeting of the Society for Developmental Biology in Snowbird, Utah, July 9-13. Ms. Jefferson will share her experiences of teaching and bringing biology to life in the classroom with some of the top researchers and medical doctors from across the country.
Lower Richland High School Principal Kelvin Wymbs was selected as the recipient of the Outstanding High Schools That Work (HSTW) Principal Award by the Southern Regional Education Board. The award is presented to one high school principal for his or her efforts in implementing HSTW design with fidelity and creating a school environment in which students thrive. Dr. Wymbs will be presented with the award at a ceremony July 15 in Atlanta.
State Honors and Awards
Alcyon Smalls of C.A. Johnson High School has been named the 2015 Career Specialist of the Year by the S.C. Department of Education’s Office of Career and Technology Education. The award recognizes Ms. Smalls’ leadership and the strong relationships she has built between education and the business/industry sector in order to provide relevant career guidance content to C.A. Johnson students. She will be recognized in June at the S.C. Education and Business Summit in Greenville.
Medina Boggs, a social studies teacher at Hand Middle School, has been awarded the Law Related Middle School Educator of the Year Award by the South Carolina State Bar Association. Mock Trial is a competition that fosters analytical and critical thinking in middle school students while increasing knowledge of America’s judicial system and the mechanics of litigation. Students are presented with a test case each year and must learn the laws related to the case, as well as courtroom decorum. Students analyze the case, create their own defense and prosecution analysis and present the case to a jury of lawyers in a real courtroom. As the sponsor of this group for the past nine years, Ms. Boggs has coached nearly 100 students through the Mock Trial process, carrying them to the state-level competition seven times and winning the state championship in 2006. She says she is most proud of the growth that she witnesses yearly in students’ self-confidence and analytical abilities, skills vital to today’s society.
Dreher High School Choral Director Walter Graham has received the Marjorie Stands-Wallace Music Educator Award. Mr. Graham was chosen by the Symphony League of the South Carolina Philharmonic as the first recipient of this honor. The mission of the Symphony League is to foster, promote and increase musical knowledge and appreciation of the performing arts in the community and to cooperate with and support the South Carolina Philharmonic. In addition to being a National Board-certified teacher, Mr. Graham holds a Master of Music degree in choral conducting. Under his direction, the Dreher chorus received a superior rating at the 2015 South Carolina Music Educators’ Association Choral Festival.
Local Awards and Honors
Columbia High School special education teacher Angenitta Bounds was awarded the 2015 Financial Educator of the Year award by Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union. Ms. Bounds received a $1,000 prize for her efforts to teach students financial literacy skills.
C. Moore Elementary School Principal Dr. Chantelle Baker recently was honored as Richland County’s Conservation Principal of the Year by the Richland Soil and Water Conservation District. The annual award recognizes a school administrator who promotes conservation education for teachers and students. With Dr. Baker’s support and leadership, A.C. Moore has accomplished a number of environmental goals, such as becoming a certified Green Steps School in 2014. Student-led projects include recycling, reusing, composting, gardening, water conservation and green purchasing. Through a partnership with the University of South Carolina’s Sustainable Carolina program, A.C. Moore has added vegetable gardening to the curriculum and the school is a pilot location for the City of Columbia’s “Trash the Poop” campaign to reduce the impact of pet waste on water quality.
