Distinguished Teacher Award past winners

2006: Michelle Breuer-Vitt, Minnehaha Academy, Minneapolis, Minn.
2005: Debbie Phares, Maple Grove Primary School, Battle Ground, Wash.
2004: Kimberlee Campbell, Harvard University Department of Romance Languages and Literature
2003: Brenda Bradshaw, Statesville (NC) Middle School

2004
Kimberlee Campbell
Harvard University Department of Romance Languages and Literature
Nominated by Mensan Pierre-Alexandre Sicart
The following is excerpted from Sicart's essay:

"K was my supervisor when I started teaching.... What solution she did not extract from her decades of experience, she helped us find with a common sense that made it appear as if the whole problem had never existed but in our heads. (Which I presume was often the case!)

"She was always open to new ideas if they could benefit her staff or the students, including to those ideas that meant even more work for her.... When my project had become too ambitious for me to handle alone, she came to my rescue; she became my 'partner in crime' and earned us a grant from one of the foremost universities in the country. We developed a complete set of phonetic tools for learners of French; it often meant working overnight and, I must say, younger generation or not, I was the first to show signs of weariness and the only one to get cranky.

"Yet we pulled it off. Because she believed in the project when nobody else world.... She reminded me that, to make things happen, you have to be a little crazy. I am very happy to be given the opportunity to nominate this 'a little crazy' person who spends so much time making sure that other people do not give up, that other people do not break down, that other people have a chance to make their dreams come true."

2003
Brenda Bradshaw
Statesville (NC) Middle School
Nominated by Mensan Kelly Elizabeth Hilton.
The following is excerpted from Hilton's essay:

"I entered Ms. Bradshaw’s academically gifted English class in the sixth grade with very little confidence in my abilities. With her support and encouragement, I slowly began to believe that I wasn’t stupid. Aware of my learning disability, she made accommodations for it but never lowered her expectations for me. She taught a classroom full of gifted students how to use our minds to analyze what we heard or read, and then to communicate our conclusions or opinions.... Ms. Bradshaw wanted to hear our opinions, respected our ideas and demanded that same respect from everyone in the class. The classroom assignments and homework she gave us were challenging without being overwhelming. She encouraged constantly, prodded when necessary, and truly enjoyed us as students.

"Ms. Bradshaw concern for me did not stop when I left her classroom. She met with my high school teachers to help them understand my unique situation — that of being gifted and learning disabled. She continues to do much for her gifted students. She challenges them daily, expects great things from each of them, and helps them explore their individual talents. She asks a lot of her students, but gives even more. I can’t begin to number the hours she has spent with them after school. She is truly one in a million and I feel very fortunate to have been in her classes. She is the teacher I will never forget."