Lura Dauer • Meadowthorpe Elementary,
Grades P-1

“When given a nurturing, rich environment that is developmentally appropriate, all children regardless of race, gender or socio-economic background will succeed.”

Ellen Dennison • Winburn Middle, Arlington & Mary Todd Elementaries, Orchestra

“I believe in working hard no matter what you feel like, day in and day out. 'Dig Deep' is the concept that I have used to teach my students how to work hard when they don't feel like working. We find it easy to work when we feel like it, but the progress we make when we 'dig deep' and make ourselves work even though we don't feel like it accelerates our trip on the road to excellence.”

Michael Murphy • Russell Cave Elementary, Grades 4-5 Reading and Social Studies

“My mission is to challenge each student to strive to reach his/her individual potential. My job is to teach and guide them to meeting their goals.”

Robin Neal • Beaumont Middle, 7th Grade Language Arts

“Every fall I tell my 7^th graders and their parents that you don’t have to love to read and write in order to be a successful language arts student or a successful citizen of society, but knowing how to read and write well will contribute greatly to your success throughout life. We then spend the rest of the year pushing ourselves (sometimes reluctantly) to be better readers and writers than we were at the beginning of 7^th grade. Along the way we discover how goofy and funny we can be when we are in middle school, while wondering why it can be such a cruel and confusing time. Ultimately we realize that middle school is as much about our social growth as it is our academic achievement. In my classroom we come to this realization through what we read and what we write.”

Cindy Simpson • Veterans Park Elementary,
Library

“Reading is the key to success. Reading exposes the reader to new ideas, vocabulary, opinions, facts, places, and situations. It expands the reader's world and imagination. It is a vital part of all other subject areas. For me, as an elementary school librarian, to teach children to read and to lead children to books is to open up the world to them.”