| Susie P. Gonzalez | 210-999-8406 | susie.gonzalez@trinity.edu |
San Antonio Educators Awarded Trinity Prize for Excellence in Teaching |
| March 27, 2003 – Two San Antonio teachers have been awarded the 2003 Trinity Prize for Excellence in Teaching for their outstanding performance in public education. Karen Jyl Barnabee, a literacy specialist at the Howard Early Childhood Center, and Victoria McCormick, who teaches English 3 advanced placement and English 4 honors at Health Careers High School, were selected from 19 distinguished educators nominated by area school districts for their commitment and passion to education.
Each winner received a crystal apple and a $2,000 check during surprise visits on March 24-25 by Paul Kelleher, chair and Murchison Distinguished Professor of education at Trinity, to their respective classrooms. “It means so much more to the recipient to receive that award in front of their students and peers,” Professor Kelleher says. “The kids are beaming and clapping, the superintendent and school board members are there, and their colleagues are lined up to hug them. It is a powerful scene.” The Trinity Prize winners and nominees will be honored at 4 p.m. Friday, April 4, during Trinity University’s annual Kappa Delta Pi lecture and awards ceremony in the Margarite B. Parker Chapel. This year’s event marks the 22nd year of the Trinity Prize, which was instituted by the University’s department of education to honor and recognize outstanding public school teachers in greater San Antonio. The lecture will be delivered by the 2002 National Teacher of the Year, Chauncey Veatch, a social studies teacher at Coachella Valley High School in Thermal, Calif. Mr. Veatch is a retired Army colonel who also holds a law degree. His teaching mission is to be a “dream-maker,” not a “dream-breaker,” for his students who come from families with modest economic means and many are migrant farm workers. Joining Trinity University as partners in giving the awards are the H.E.B. Grocery Co. and the San Antonio Express-News. A panel of business executives and two Trinity education students selected the two winners. Members of the selection committee were Bill Greehey, chief executive officer of Valero Energy Corp.; Howard Nolan, president and chief executive officer of the United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County; Veronica Salazar, vice president of community relations at the San Antonio Express-News; Kathryn Bryan ’04, the Kappa Delta Pi outstanding junior in education; and Brooke Earl ’03, the Kappa Delta Pi outstanding senior in education.
Mrs. Barnabee is an example of a lifelong learner who has an interest in research as well as hands-on learning. As a literacy instructor at the Howard Early Childhood Center in the Alamo Heights School District, she creates a child-centered environment that encourages students to work hard and willingly give their best. She adapts the curriculum to the needs and learning styles of each child, incorporating songs, chants, poetry, games, and drama into her classes to make literacy real to her students. “I believe that inasmuch as we empower and enable any child, we empower and enable all of mankind,” she says, “but inasmuch as we fail any child, we fail all of mankind.” In addition to helping kindergarten teachers develop their program planning and testing assessments, Mrs. Barnabee has supervised high school and college students who aspire to teach. Even in her leisure time, Mrs. Barnabee is an educator. She travels throughout the country teaching literacy in-service courses and working as an educational consultant. She has an avid interest in dance and the history of the Southwest and recently learned how to design an adobe-style home, which she and her husband built. A love of writing and of words led Mrs. McCormick into the teaching profession. Recognizing that good writing takes time and thought, she strives to teach students the tools of writing, while building relationships that foster their imagination and self-knowledge. She believes that her students are not empty vessels to be filled – they are firecrackers set to explode with insight. Her students write and share their writing every day. Mrs. McCormick also writes and frequently shares her work with students, including a poem that won first place in the San Antonio Poetry Fair. Because students in her classes are eligible to receive junior college credit, she must integrate requirements for both high school and college courses into her lesson plans. As coordinator of the English department at Health Careers High School in the Northside School District, she oversees a budget, allocates resources fairly to English and speech teachers, and serves as a link to district administrators. Outside the classroom, Mrs. McCormick enjoys camping, jogging, cooking and baking, and she participates in community service projects with the Elf Louise project, Raul Jimenez Thanksgiving Dinner, and the Salvation Army, among others. The April 4 program is free and open to the public. A reception will follow on the Murchison Tower Plaza. For more information, contact Trinity’s department of education at (210) 999-7501. |
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Last updated on April 4, 2003 by the Office of Public Relations |
