CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Luajean Bryan, a Walker Valley High School math teacher, is the winner of this year’s Lillie F. Fitzgerald Excellence in Teaching Award.
At Monday’s annual luncheon, the Bradley/Cleveland Public Education Foundation also announced the winners of the latest round of minigrants for classroom projects.
With financial support from people, businesses, corporations and foundations, 50 grants were awarded, exceeding $45,000 to 67 teachers in 19 schools.
Mrs. Bryan, who was Tennessee Teacher of the Year 2009, told the audience that the award is “a great honor because it comes from my peers and administrators.”
In her acceptance speech, she recalled that, on one particular day, her calculus class was so wrapped up in the subject that students ignored the class-change bell.
“In fact, at one point, it was noisy in the hall, probably because of the class change,” she recalled. “One of my students was so irritated by the noise he went back and slammed the door closed.”
Her award is named for a beloved teacher in Cleveland. Dr. and Mrs. Rodney Fitzgerald present the annual award in honor and memory of his mother.
Some of this year’s grant recipients also were highlighted during the luncheon. Among them were Amanda Turner and Sandy Akiona at Bradley Central High School, who arranged college campus tours for students who otherwise might not consider higher education.
Jessica Long, a teacher at Ocoee Middle School, used a grant to buy novels for her English literature class.
Annelise King, a seventh-grade student in that class, underscored how those stories can affect real lives. She read about a boy coping with his little brother’s leukemia while her own family faces the trials of her mom’s cancer.
“It was nice feeling like somebody else was along for the ride, even if he was fictional,” she told the audience.
Lynn Voelz, executive director of the Bradley/Cleveland Public Education Foundation, told the audience that 26 local teachers now have taken one of four components toward National Board certification. There now are only three National Board-certified teachers in the local school systems.
Dr. and Mrs. Fitzgerald, Dr. and Mrs. Rick Denning and Mr. and Mrs. Peggy Pesterfield have seeded a foundation fund to support teachers seeking national certification.