WASHINGTON, D.C. – For their extraordinary efforts in serving others through volunteerism, ten middle and high school students from across the country were named America’s top ten youth volunteers for 2008 today in a ceremony at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce headquarters, capping the 13^th year of The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards.

Ranging in age from 12 to 18, the ten National Honorees received personal awards of $5,000, engraved gold medallions, crystal trophies for the schools that nominated them, and $5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for the charities of their choice. [The ceremony can be viewed at www.prudential/spirit.com .]

Two of the National Honorees are cancer survivors who now spend a great deal of time providing hope and inspiration to other young people with the disease, while two other honorees operated lemonade stands in their towns to raise large amounts of money for medical service dogs and cancer research. Other National Honorees founded a restaurant-style soup kitchen, started an international kids organization to address needs around the world, sent CDs and DVDs to American troops serving overseas, organized a "Freedom Walk" to commemorate 9/11, and educated others about depression and suicide. Another honoree rallied her community to build a modular home at her school for a victim of Hurricane Katrina, and then transported it to Mississippi. The ceremony was part of a four-day celebration that brought the top two youth volunteers from each state and the District of Columbia to Washington, D.C., with their parents to be recognized for their outstanding acts of community service. All 102 were personally congratulated by Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, at a gala dinner reception last night at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. The ten National Honorees named today were selected on the basis of their personal initiative, creativity, effort, impact and personal growth. Among them is:

Kaylee Marie Radzyminski, 16, of Cleveland, Tenn., who collects CDs and DVDs and sends them out every week to American soldiers serving in combat zones. More than 200 organizations across the country have joined her "Tunes 4 the Troops" campaign, and over 170,000 discs have been shipped to boost the morale of U.S. troops overseas.

"These honorees are inspiring examples of young Americans who care deeply about the needs of others and who have taken the initiative to help meet those needs," said Arthur F. Ryan, chairman of Prudential Financial, Inc. "By honoring them, we hope not only to give them the recognition they so richly deserve, but also to inspire others to follow their example."

Conducted in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards were created 13 years ago by Prudential to encourage youth volunteerism and to identify and reward young role models. Since then, the program has honored more than 80,000 young volunteers at the local, state and national level.

Applications for the 2008 awards program were submitted last fall through schools, Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and Volunteer Centers affiliated with the Points of Light & Hands On Network. The top middle level and high school applicants in each state were announced in February; each received a $1,000 prize and an engraved silver medallion.

NASSP President Barry Stark said: "The young people in this country are capable of doing some

extraordinary things given the time and the opportunity. The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards is one of the great showcases of their amazing acts of kindness and selflessness. We are pleased to once again join Prudential in honoring them for their accomplishments."

Also honored on Sunday night were eight top youth volunteers from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Ireland who won Prudential Spirit of Community Awards in their countries in recent months. They were congratulated by Ryan and presented with special commemorative trophies.

The national selection committee that chose the ten National Honorees was co-chaired by U.S. Senators John Kerry of Massachusetts and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, and Arthur Ryan of Prudential. Also serving on the committee were actor Richard Dreyfuss; Alma Powell, chair of the America’s Promise Alliance; Michelle Nunn, president and CEO of the Points of Light & Hands On Network; Amy B. Cohen, director of Learn and Serve America at the Corporation for National and Community Service; Kathy Cloninger, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA; Donald T. Floyd Jr., president and CEO of National

4-H Council; Kathryn Forbes, national chair of volunteers, American Red Cross; Neil Nicoll, president and CEO of YMCA of the USA; Michael Cohen, president and CEO of Achieve, Inc.; Barry Stark, president of NASSP; and two 2007 Prudential Spirit of Community National Honorees: Kelly Davis of West Bath, Me., and Kelydra Welcker of Parkersburg, W.Va.

In addition to the organizations above, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards are supported by the American Association of School Administrators, the National Middle School Association, the National School Boards Association, the Council of the Great City Schools, the National School Public Relations Association and many other national youth and service organizations.

More information about The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards and this year’s honorees can be found at www.prudential.com/spirit  or www.principals.org/prudential .

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represent the United States’ largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. The program is part of a broad youth-service initiative by Prudential that includes a youth leadership training program administered by the Points of Light & Hands On Network; a free booklet of volunteer ideas for young people offered through the Federal Citizen Information Center; and a Web site featuring profiles of outstanding youth volunteers, volunteer tips and project ideas for students, an electronic newspaper on youth volunteerism, and more. (www.prudential.com/spirit ) .

The National Association of Secondary School Principals – the preeminent organization and the national voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals and aspiring school leaders – provides its members with the professional resources to serve as visionary leaders. NASSP promotes the intellectual growth, academic achievement, character development, leadership development, and physical well-being of youth through its programs and student leadership services. NASSP sponsors the National Honor Society™, the National Junior Honor Society™, the National Elementary Honor Society™, and the National Association of Student Councils™. For more information on NASSP, NHS, NJHS, NEHS or NASC, visit www.principals.org .

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with approximately $648 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2007, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Leveraging its heritage of life insurance and asset management expertise, Prudential is focused on helping more than 50 million individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth. The company’s well-known Rock symbol is an icon of strength, stability, expertise and innovation that has stood the test of time. Prudential's businesses offer a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, investment management, and real estate services. For more information, please visit www.prudential.com .

Three Cleveland City Schools’ teachers have been named as system winners for the 2008-2009 Teacher of the Year competition sponsored by the State Department of Education. Representing the school system in the three grade levels of PreK-4, Grades 5-8, and grades 9-12, these teachers will advance to compete at the Regional level. System winners are PreK-4: Richelle Shelton, Grades 5-8: Jean Dunn, and Grades 9-12: Abby Lamb. These system level winners were selected by their peers and embody excellence in the teaching profession. Tennessee’s Teacher of the Year program began in 1960 to honor and highlight those educators who showed extraordinary dedication and performance in the classroom. Among the criteria to qualify, teachers must have been teaching full-time for at least five years; have a proven record of using creative, research-based teaching strategies resulting in measurable student results; and be effective school and community leaders.

Richelle Shelton, a Kindergarten teacher at D.P. Yates Primary School, has been a teacher for 12 years and was previously selected as a building level teacher of the year in 2003. She graduated from UTC in 1996 with a Bachelor’s of Science degree with honors in K-4 Education. At Yates, she has served on textbook committees, SACS review teams, and chaired two School Improvement teams. She was instrumental in the construction of the school system pacing guides in Math and Science and served as the representative from Yates for the Kindergarten Quality Council for five years. Shelton has taught the Kindergarten Academy, an at-risk intervention program, and implemented the Early Prevention of School Failure (EPSF) Program. She was chosen to serve as a Technology mentor for Yates Primary School and has provided training and support for other Yates teachers in the area of technology. She is currently participating on the Cleveland City Schools Leadership Team. She has presented three sessions at the East Tennessee Education Association and provided staff development to teachers on ActivBoards. Shelton is very involved in several community activities including canned food drives, Operation Christmas Child, Relay for Life, and Laughing for a Cure. An active member of Mount Olive Church of God, Shelton serves on the leadership team of the Marriage Matters Class, and participates in the choir and several other programs. According to Shelton, "I believe that I am a successful teacher because I focus on respect, procedures, and an engaging classroom environment. These are the initial skills to teaching objectives/skills productively."

Jean Dunn received her Bachelor of Science in Education from Illinois State University and her Master’s Degree in Elementary Education form Rivier College in Nashau, New Hampshire. She has been teaching Family and Consumer Science at Cleveland Middle School for the past eight years and has twice been selected by her peers as the Cleveland Middle School teacher of the year. In 2003, Dunn’s Family and Consumer Science Program was selected as the Program of the Year by the state association. Dunn has tested and evaluated a nutrition student’s food safety web-based curriculum in a USDA grant/research project from the University of Vermont’s Department of Nutrition and Food Science. She was recently selected to serve on a state team to rewrite the Tennessee Teen Living curriculum. Dunn served on the CCS School Nutrition Program’s Wellness Committee and acted as team leader of the Education subcommittee. She has made presentations at the Tennessee Career and Technical Education Conference and at the Tennessee Association of Middle School drive in conference. Very involved in community activities, Dunn’s Family Career and Community Leaders of America Chapter at CMS has donated over $2500 to agencies like the American Heart Association, Ronald McDonald House, and the American Red Cross (Katrina and Tsunami relief). Her students demonstrate leadership as office aides, before school helpers, and as community volunteers. Dunn states, "My philosophy of teaching is also my philosophy of life: I want to make a difference. I have tried to live that in my family life, in my faith, and in my teaching of middle school students. If I don’t live by that creed daily, then my teaching becomes just a job and I have little impact on my students."

Abby Lamb attended East Tennessee State University and graduated Magna Cum Laude as a University Honors Scholar in 2001 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Studio Art. She received her Master of Education Degree from UTC 2006. She has worked as an Art teacher at Cleveland High School since 2003 and currently serves as the Department Head of the Fine Arts Department. In the summer of 2006, Lamb was one of 25 teachers selected nationally for the Teaching East Asia Conference at the University of Colorado. This has enabled her to provide staff development to teachers on teaching East Asian culture. In 2003, she presented a program at the Columbus Association for the Education of Young Children to help other schools start an art program. She also serves on the Cleveland High School attendance committee, Prom Committee, Anchor Club sponsor, and is the Student Government Association sponsor. In 2002, she worked at the James Cancer Hospital helping children of terminally ill parents use art to cope with their grief. As a result, Lamb received the Community Health Education Award for her work on Kids Can Cope, a book published by her therapy group about grief management seen through the eyes, words, and images of children. She has also been awarded a $20,000 grant from the State of Tennessee to incorporate technology into the academic classroom. Community involvement activities include the Pilot Club, where she serves as treasurer, and in doing volunteer work for the Caring Place and the Dye Creek Art and Music Festival. She is currently working with the animal shelter to decorate the outside of their building. Ms. Lamb says, "Every class of students brings a unique set of personalities, experiences, and challenges. I see it as my job to adapt my teaching style and methods in order to most effectively bring my subject matter to the students." She adds, "…all students still need to feel wanted and loved and supported. And I hope that in a small way each day I can show them I care."

Winners of the Building Level Teachers of the years were as follows:

Arnold Elementary

Paula Pedrick

Blythe/Bower Elementary

Sonia Griffey

E.L. Ross Elementary

Lori Ingraham

Stuart Elementary

Karen Malik

Mayfield Elementary

Michael Rogers

Cleveland Middle School

Phyllis Anderson

Anne Woody

Cleveland High School

Rachael Dooley

Don Markham

The Tennessee Council for the Social Studies has named Cleveland Middle School teacher Barbara Ector as the Tennessee Outstanding Social Studies Teacher of the Year for 2008. Ms Ector’s work and dedication to the field of social studies is superior in the state and she will now be eligible for the National Social Studies Teacher of the Year. The Tennessee Council of the Social Studies will honor Ector at their annual conference on March 6-7, 2008. Just last year, Ector was nationally recognized as one of the three recipients of the American Civic Education Teacher Awards for 2007.

Ms. Ector graduated from George Peabody College with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Sociology and received endorsements to teach History, Government, Psychology, Geography, and Sociology. She received her Master of Science Degree in Secondary Education from George Peabody as well. She is currently a Social Studies teacher at Cleveland Middle School where she also serves as the Social Studies Building Level Curriculum coordinator and a Student Council sponsor. Ms. Ector is an International Trainer for the Center for Civic Education and serves as a consultant to two programs, We the People, The Citizen and the Constitution and Project Citizen. As a classroom teacher, she involved her students in showcases for both of these programs and they have received Superior and Outstanding ratings. She is presently serving as a trainer for Peaceable Schools, sponsored by the Tennessee Bar Association. This program introduces educators and community service employees to basic principles of conflict resolution and methods for helping students learn skills of mediation, negotiation, and group problem solving. She utilizes these techniques in her classroom which fosters a safe, caring, peaceful, environment.

For the years 1991, 1997, 2003, 2004, and 2007, Ms. Ector was selected as the building level teacher of the year from Cleveland Middle School. In 2007, she was selected as the system level teacher of the year for grades 5-8. She was nominated for the Walt Disney teacher of the year in 2002 and 2003.

"Ms. Ector continues to set the standard for excellence in Cleveland City Schools," states Director of Schools Rick Denning. "Our students are so fortunate to have teachers like Barbara Ector. She is most deserving of this prestigious award." CMS Principal Jeff Elliott adds, "Barbara Ector represents the best qualities of all teachers. Our students, parents, and staff have tremendous respect for her. Ms. Ector is not only an outstanding teacher, but an outstanding person of the highest character."

School Board Attends "Day on the Hill"

The Cleveland City School Board attended the Tennessee School Boards Association "Day on the Hill" on February 26th.  This annual event encourages school board members from across the state to visit their local legislators in Nashville in order to discuss pending matters of public education that might come before the legislature.

Cleveland City Schools Rated Among Elite by Parents

Congratulations to Cleveland City Schools for having earned the ‘What Parents Want’ award based on a survey conducted by national education research firm SchoolMatch. The criteria for the award is based on feedback from parents and homebuyers about what parents look for in a school system. SchoolMatch conducts educational audits to see how closely school systems across the nation meet the desired qualifications. The criteria includes academic competitiveness; accreditation; recognition by the USDE; competitive teacher salaries; above-average expenditures on instruction and library/media services; and smaller class sizes.

Dr. Rick Denning wishes to express his appreciation to the entire staff of Cleveland City Schools for earning this recognition!

Cleveland City Schools Strategic Plan
 

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