6 Tucson-area students named
to advisory panels on educationState schools chief Kathy Hoffman selected six Tucson-area students to be members of the 2020-2021 Student Advisory Council and others intended to help improve Arizona’s K-12 education.
Tucson eighth-graders Isabella Alvarez and Jade Leon, ninth-grader Jenine Annett and 12th-grader Elena Durazo were appointed to the student advisory council.
Marana 11th-grader Carlisa Parra was appointed to the Equitable and Inclusive Practices Advisory Council, which includes students, teachers, education stakeholders, business leaders and community members.
Tucson ninth-grader Lexana Echegaray was appointed to the Indian Education Advisory Council, also comprised of students, teachers and the various education stakeholders.
Hoffman created the advisory council as a way to center students’ voices and improve K-12 education in the state, a news release said. Students go through an application process before being selected to represent their schools and students across the state.
Students will meet with Hoffman and other education leaders every quarter to discuss academics, technology, school safety and their experience as students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Students are the ones who are oftentimes most impacted by decisions made by the department and policy makers in the state,” Hoffman said. “By actively engaging with students, I am able to elevate their voices as we consider policy changes and bring their perspectives to critical areas of education policies and procedures.”
Virtual forum of TUSD candidates set for Thursday
Non-partisan group CARE 4 TUSD is hosting a virtual TUSD candidate forum on Oct. 8 at 6:30 p.m.
The group invited all candidates who will either be on the ballot, Ravi Grivois-Shah, Nicolas Pierson, Cindy Winston, Sadie Shaw, Adam Ragan and Natalie Luna Rose, or are an official write-in candidate, which is just Cristina Mennella.
Editor at the Yellow Sheet and former Arizona Daily Star education reporter Hank Stephenson will be moderating.
Register in advance at tinyurl.com/y3wvqc7p, or watch live at tinyurl.com/y3ol8z2s.
Community members can send questions for the candidates to Hankdeanstephenson@gmail.com at least 24 hours in advance of the forum. Put “TUSD Forum” in the subject line, and the moderator will get to as many questions as possible.
Candidate’s answers to pre-forum questions can be seen at care4tusd.org.
Nash Elementary teacher receives Excellence Award
Tucson Values Teachers named Lindsey Shotwell, a teacher at Marana Unified School District’s special-education preschool Play and Learn, the recipient of the September Teacher Excellence Award.
Shotwell has taught at Play and Learn Preschool Center for five years and is the first preschool teacher to receive the Teacher Excellence Award since the nonprofit began including PreK teachers, a news release said. She is also the Play and Learn Preschool Center curriculum lead and the instructional leadership team lead. She also is the co-vice president of membership for the Southern Arizona Association for the Education of Young Children.
Laura Strickler, a student’s parent, nominated Shotwell.
“Lindsey is a wonderful person and the most dedicated teacher,” Strickler wrote in her nomination. “She works with preschool aged students with developmental disabilities and she pours her entire heart into her work. She builds strong relationships with her students and their families, working incredibly hard to provide families the tools they need to prepare for kindergarten. She has made a huge impact on my life and my family. She has taught me things about my son, and myself and I am forever grateful to her.”
Tucson Values Teachers gives the Teacher Excellence Award to a Southern Arizona teacher every month. The award comes with $250, courtesy of Helios Education Foundation, a $100 gift card for classroom materials and flowers. Shotwell also received an additional $100 gift card and a gift basket of school supplies from OneAZ Credit Union.
For more information about the award or to nominate a teacher, go to tucsonvaluesteachers.org.
Marana High grad earns Congressional gold medal
A recent graduate from Marana High School earned a Congressional Award Gold Medal, a news release said.
Vanessa Richards, who graduated in 2020 and is now a student at Utah State University, earned Congress’ highest honor for civilian youth in the program’s first virtual ceremony, last week, the news release said. The medal honors youth for their commitment to voluntary public service as well as personal development and physical fitness.
“I am grateful for the balanced life the award expected me to maintain,” Richards said. “I loved the experiences I had reaching my service goals such as my time with the Down syndrome community. I enjoyed the families so much and learned so much from the families and volunteers.”
Tucson student’s poem included in nat’l publication
University High student Kayla Garcia entered her poem “complications” in the National High School Poetry Contest, and it was published in a recent edition of the American High School Poets “My World” anthology.
The anthology is a study of introspective poems written by teenagers from around the country and explores how today’s teens view the world and where they see themselves fitting into complex moral and social issues, a news release said.
The quarterly magazine is published by the Live Poets Society of NJ in conjunction with JUST POETRY!!!
For more information on The Live Poets Society of NJ go to tinyurl.com/y6ao5p5t. For more information on JUST POETRY!!! go to tinyurl.com/y3whreoj.
