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OFE News Release

Oklahoma Educators Immersed in History at Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute

July 15, 2008
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Twenty-seven Oklahoma teachers walked in the footsteps of America’s patriots and British colonists during the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute held recently in the restored capital city of 18th-century Virginia.

“This was the most grueling and yet most inspiring teacher training I have attended in my 20-year career,” said Tulsa teacher Dessa Weber. “We were engaged from sunrise to well past sunset learning how to teach Oklahoma students about the history of how our nation began.”

The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence selected the teachers to receive all-expense paid trips to the summer institute in Williamsburg, Va., as well as $300 stipends for classroom materials. In addition, participants received a one-year subscription to the Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trip series, which combines Internet activities and live television broadcasts to help bring the Colonial Williamsburg experience to the classroom.

Participants, listed by school district, are: Lissa McMillan, BLAIR; Tonya Boyle, BROKEN ARROW; Amber Spradlin and Kelli Henry, CHOCTAW-NICOMA PARK; Katherine Jones, COVINGTON-DOUGLAS; Cindy Murray, COWETA; Deana Rosenthal, EDMOND; Holly Crawford, FAIRVIEW; Dianna Morey, LAWTON, Jenifer Bazzit, MIDWEST CITY-DEL CITY; Lois Sturch, Shari Bright and John Cunningham; MOORE; Jeanne Pennington, MUSTANG; Jill Clark and Stephani Stevens, OAKDALE; Randy Utt and Linda Tiehen, PUTNAM CITY; Antonia Lee, SHAWNEE; Brenda Zacharias, STILLWATER; Beth Howard and Dessa Weber, TULSA; Debra Venable, WILSON; and Kayleen Browning, YUKON. In addition, Rebecca Johnson of Sacred Heart Catholic School and Kevin Crossno of Casady School in OKLAHOMA CITY participated.

Teresa Potter of MOORE Public Schools was selected by the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute to serve as peer facilitator for the Oklahoma delegation. Potter, who is a Teacher Institute alumna and coordinator of Oklahoma’s Colonial Day at the Capitol, met daily with the group to discuss teaching techniques and develop creative lesson plans based on their experiences in Williamsburg.

While at Colonial Williamsburg – the world’s largest living history museum – Oklahoma teachers met character interpreters of 18th-century people and were immersed in early American history through hands-on activities and reenactments of historic events. The week’s lessons were built around the theme “Becoming Americans.” Participants also visited Jamestown, the site of the first permanent English colony in America, and spent a day at Yorktown visiting the battlefields where the Continental Army forced the British to surrender.

“This experience has forever enriched my understanding of the struggle and hardship of everyday life for the first English colonists of the New World, as well as the vision of our founding fathers,” added Weber, who teaches fifth grade at Tulsa’s Kendall Whittier Elementary, an urban school serving a high-poverty population. “Speaking in the informal register of poverty, my students learn best through stories and hands-on experiences. They will benefit not only by hearing the stories of our nation’s beginning, but also by becoming the story through applications gleaned from this institute.”

Debra Venable, a reading specialist and after-school program coordinator for Wilson Public School, said the visit to Williamsburg was “the opportunity of a lifetime.” Venable returned to Oklahoma with artifacts, books, colonial toys, period clothing, musical instruments, videos and 967 photos to help share her experiences with her students.“Not only will I incorporate history into my reading program, but I will also utilize this Colonial Williamsburg experience in the after-school program for enrichment across the curriculum in reading, history, the arts and even math and science. I want students to ‘feel’ the part of Colonials and their lives by creating a part of Colonial Williamsburg at my school.”

This marks the 16th year that the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence has coordinated Oklahoma’s participation in the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute. The Oklahoma program was founded and supported through the fundraising efforts of the late Oklahoma City businessman Edward C. Joullian III. A trustee of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence and former board member of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Joullian died in 2006. Graduates of the institute now receive lapel pins and certificates designating them as Edward C. Joullian Oklahoma Scholars. Joullian’s family, along with a group of loyal donors, continues to support the program, which has transformed the way many Oklahoma educators teach early American history.

The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence is a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to recognizing and encouraging academic excellence in Oklahoma’s public schools. In addition to its Colonial Williamsburg programs, the foundation sponsors an Academic Awards Program, provides training and resources for new and established public school foundations, administers grants to teachers for professional development and coordinates a statewide school-based mentoring initiative.

For more information, contact the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence at (405) 236-0006.

(EDITORS: Oklahoma’s Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute participants are listed below by hometown and the cities in which they teach. Photos and quotes from individual teachers are attached, when available. If you would like to interview a local participant, contact Brenda Wheelock at 405-236-0006 for information.)

AMES – Ames resident Holly Crawford is a fifth-grade teacher at Cornelson Elementary School in Fairview.

BLAIR – Lissa McMillan is a fifth-grade teacher at Blair School, where she has taught for 12 years.

BROKEN ARROW – Tonya Boyle teaches fifth-grade social studies and language arts at Cecil Rhoades Elementary School. She has been in the teaching profession for 16 years.

CHECOTAH – Checotah resident Debra J. Venable is a reading specialist at Wilson Public School in Henryetta.

CHOCTAW – Kelli Henry teaches fifth grade at Nicoma Park Intermediate School. She is a resident of EDMOND. Amber Spradlin of Choctaw teaches fifth grade at Nicoma Park Intermediate School.

COVINGTON – Katherine Jones is a fifth grade teacher at Covington-Douglas Elementary. She lives in Marshall. She has been a teacher for 15 years.

COWETA – Cindy Murray is a fifth-grade teacher at Coweta Intermediate Grade Center, where she has taught for 10 years. She lives in Tulsa.

EDMOND – Jill Clark is a fifth-grade teacher at Oakdale School in the Oakdale District of Edmond. She lives in Oklahoma City.
Edmond resident Kelli Henry teaches fifth grade at Nicoma Park Intermediate School in the Choctaw-Nicoma Park School District.
Deana Rosenthal teaches fifth grade at West Field Elementary School.
Stephanie Stevens is a fifth-grade teacher at Oakdale School in the Oakdale District of Edmond. Stevens’ teacher institute scholarship was sponsored by the Scott and Debra Duncan Foundation of Edmond.
Edmond resident Randy Utt teaches in the PEAK gifted and talented program at James L. Dennis Elementary School in the Putnam City Public Schools District in Oklahoma City. She is a 24-year teaching veteran.

FAIRVIEW – Holly Crawford is a fifth-grade teacher at Cornelson Elementary School. She lives in Ames.

HENRYETTA – Debra J. Venable is a reading specialist at Wilson Public School. She lives in Checotah.

LAWTON – Dianna L. Morey teaches fifth grade at Brockland Elementary School.

MARSHALL – Marshall resident Katherine Jones is a fifth grade teacher at Covington-Douglas Elementary School in Covington.

MIDWEST CITY – Del City resident Jenifer Bazzit teaches fifth grade at Sooner Rose Elementary School in Midwest City.

MOORE – Shari Bright teaches in the SEARCH gifted and talented program at Eastlake Elementary School. She lives in Oklahoma City.
A 22-year teaching veteran, John Cunningham teaches in the SEARCH gifted and talented program at Earlywine Elementary School. He resides in Oklahoma City.
Moore resident Rebecca Johnson teaches fifth grade at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Oklahoma City.
Teresa Potter teaches in the SEARCH gifted and talented program at Fisher Elementary School. A Teacher Institute alumna, she was selected as peer facilitator for the Oklahoma teacher delegation at this year’s Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute. She was recently honored at Moore Public Schools’ District Teacher of the Year.
Lois Sturch teaches in the SEARCH gifted and talented program at Central Elementary School in Moore. She has taught for Moore Public Schools for 30 years, including 23 at Central Elementary.

MUSTANG – Jeanne Pennington teaches fifth grade at Mustang Creek Elementary School. She has taught in Oklahoma schools for 15 years. She lives in Tuttle.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City resident Shari Bright teaches in the SEARCH gifted and talented program at Eastlake Elementary School in Oklahoma City. Eastlake is in the Moore Public Schools district.
Oklahoma City resident Jill Clark is a fifth-grade teacher at Oakdale School in the Oakdale District of Edmond.
Kevin Crossno teaches U.S. history at Casady School in Oklahoma City. He is attending the July 23-30 Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute.
Oklahoma City resident John Cunningham teaches in the SEARCH gifted and talented program at Earlywine Elementary School in Moore.
Rebecca Johnson teaches fifth grade at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Oklahoma City. She resides in Moore.
Linda Cates Tiehen teaches in the gifted and talented program at Northridge Elementary School in Oklahoma City.
Randy Utt teaches in the PEAK gifted and talented program at James L. Dennis Elementary School in the Putnam City Public Schools District in Oklahoma City. A 24-year teaching veteran, she resides in Edmond.

SHAWNEE – Antonia Paula Lee is a fifth-grade teacher at Will Rogers Elementary School. She has taught for 18 years in the Shawnee district.

STILLWATER – Brenda G. Zacharias is a fifth-grade teacher at Sangre Ridge Elementary School.

TUTTLE – Jeanne Pennington teaches fifth grade at Mustang Creek Elementary School in Mustang. She has taught in Oklahoma schools for 15 years.

TULSA – Beth Howard teaches visual art and gifted and talented classes at Mark Twain Elementary School.
Tulsa resident Cindy Murray is a fifth-grade teacher at Coweta Intermediate Grade Center, where she has taught for 10 years.
Dessa Webber is a fifth-grade social studies and language arts teacher at Kendall Whittier Elementary School in Tulsa. She has been in the teaching profession for 20 years.

YUKON – Kayleen Browning is a fifth-grade social studies and language arts teacher at Skyview Elementary School.