By Special to the EE Saturday, July 9, 2011 8:50 PM CDT Darla Gardner has been named the Bartlesville Public School District’s Teacher of the Month for July by Arvest Bank and Oakley Chevrolet-Buick-Pontiac. Now in her 11th year as an educator, Gardner serves as the remediation specialist at Richard Kane Elementary School. In recognition of her Teacher of the Month status, she was recently presented with a plaque as well as a check for $300 by Stephen Colaw, the Arvest Bank senior vice president and trust officer, and David Oakley, Jr., the owner of Oakley Chevrolet-Buick-Pontiac Friday afternoons are always special for Gardner. Dressed as Word Woman, she’ll enter each first grade classroom at Kane and select three students. One by one, she’ll lead them into the hallway, just outside of their respective classrooms, and have them read words to her from the school’s high frequency list for first graders. The students always do their best, not wanting to disappoint Word Woman. For their efforts, the students receive a warm smile and a fresh sticker, which they can show off to their classmates. Clad in a feathered and beaded black mask as well as a red cape, Word Woman has fast become a hero to the young students at Kane. Having spent all 11 of her years in education at Kane, Gardner is in her second year as the school’s remediation specialist. Word Woman was born at the beginning of the 2010-11 academic year as a way to help keep students excited about learning. Gardner came up with the idea for a super hero who would help emphasize the power of education at the school. As the remediation specialist at Kane, Gardner is always looking to go the extra mile for students who generally need some additional help. She once wrote to officials with KJRH in Tulsa as part of their “Channel 2 Works for You” promotion. Through the promotion, those with a need could make it known and then hopefully be connected with an anonymous donor.
Gardner’s need was for an expensive device which helped people who stuttered. One of her students suffered from the problem, and Gardner was looking to assist the child in any way she could. Though somewhat unorthodox, the move paid great dividends. “They found an anonymous donor for the device,” relates Gardner. “It was a great day to travel with the student to Tulsa to receive his new device and watch him read without stuttering. “It was a proud moment.” Gardner has much of which she can be proud herself. She boasts bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from Northeastern State University. She is very active within her school, where she is Kane’s secret pal coordinator, Title 1 representative, TRIBES coordinator and discipline committee member. In addition, she is one of the school’s data team leaders, created the staff talent show, has been a sponsor of peer mediators and is a member of the Oklahoma Education Association. Though spare time would seem to be a luxury for Gardner, she often spends it helping out in the community. She is a member of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowl for Kids Sake team and has been involved with Washington County Youth Baseball and Softball, the Junior Miss Pageant and Camp Invention. Kane held a special school-wide function for the whole family on the evening of Jan. 27 — known as Math Mania — and Gardner served as the coordinator. Growing up, Gardner needed a star in her life and she found one. Starr Meek was her high school coach and teacher, and is still a mentor and friend. Gardner was lucky enough to have a caring teacher serve as a positive role model in her life, and now she does everything she can to fill that need for the students in her care. “It’s all about the kids,” says Gardner. “I chose this career to help children grow as students and individuals.”
Kappa Delta Pi, International Honor Society in Education, is pleased to announce that 70 new members were inducted into its membership through the Kappa Rho chapter of Northeastern State University on April 17, 2011. The ceremony was conducted on the NSU-Broken Arrow campus.
The Society inducts only those individuals who have exhibited the ideals of scholarship, integrity in service, and commitment to excellence in teaching and its allied professions. Selection as a member of Kappa Delta Pi is based on high academic achievement, a commitment to education as a career, and a professional attitude that assures steady growth in the profession. At Northeastern State University, education majors with a 3.25 GPA or better are eligible for membership.
Founded in 1911 at the University of Illinois by William C. Bagley, Kappa Delta Pi is the largest honor society in education, representing 572 undergraduate and professional chapters and more than 45,000 active members. The Kappa Rho chapter was begun at NSU on May 13, 1966. Kappa Delta Pi’s most distinguished members over the last century have included Margaret Mead, Albert Einstein, George Washington Carver and current leaders in education Howard Gardner, Maxine Greene, and Carol Gilligan.
Local Contact:Deborah Landry, Ed. D.landryd@nsuok.edu918.444.3710
National Contact:Kelly M. SkinnerDirector of Membership, Kappa Delta Pikellys@kdp.org800-284-3167
Each year the DaVinci Institute, Oklahoma’s Creativity Think Tank, honors a special group of Oklahoma teachers by recognizing them as DaVinci Scholars. These ten teachers possess a unique set of characteristics. Each has graduated from an Oklahoma college or university. Each has chosen to remain in Oklahoma to build a teaching career and is currently employed as a teacher in an Oklahoma public or private P-12 school. These DaVinci Scholars practice interdisciplinary instructional methods in the classroom, recognize and support the value of multiple intelligences, individual learning styles, and foster creativity and critical thought in students. A DaVinci Scholar collaborates with peers and parents and understands that learning is not static but rather an ongoing lifelong process.
Avery stated, “First, I want to thank each one of you for your support and your undying commitment to give outstanding service to our future teachers. Second, I want to state how honored I am to have received this award.”
Avery, an NSU COE graduate and teacher education candidate, was accompanied to the awards banquet in Oklahoma City by NSU DaVinci Fellows, Dr. Linda Wilson and Dr. Martha Parrott, as well as Dean Kay Grant.
More about the DaVinci Institute>>