Marilyn Wall Named RCPS Teacher of the Year for 2002
Marilyn Wall Named RCPS Teacher of the Year for 2002
Marilyn Wall, fourth grade teacher at Peak View Elementary School, has been named by the Rockingham Educational Foundation as the Lucy Simms Teacher of the Year for 2002, presented by the Wharton Aldhizer Weaver law firm. A veteran of 35 years in the classroom, Marilyn previously taught at Pleasant Valley Elementary, McGaheysville Elementary and John Wayland Elementary Schools.
Ed Smith, Director of Program Development for RCPS, reported "The selection committee had twenty one excellent candidates, and we believe Marilyn Wall will represent Rockingham County Public Schools very well in the regional and state teacher of the year program."
Marilyn's contributions to RCPS are many. She has served on various county committees and conducted many inservices for fellow teachers. But her greatest enjoyment has come from her students. "My passion is being their learning partner. I love teaching but I also really love learning,," she stated. Around RCPS, Marilyn is well known as a strong advocate of technology in the classroom. "Technology is a great equalizer. With technology, our students have just as many opportunities as students anywhere in the US. I love working with technology, but more importantly, I love how it empowers students. The self esteem and pride that students show when they create their own PowerPoint presentations, for example, is wonderful."
Being named RCPS Teacher of the Year is one of many teaching awards Marilyn has garnered. She has been selected as an exemplary teacher in the National Teacher Training Institute for Technology, and has been her school's Lead Teacher for Science. She was the Virginia State Winner in the 1996 Technology & Learning Teacher of the year program sponsored by Microsoft and won the NSTA's Phillips Media Hands-On Science Teaching Award in 1997. Marilyn was one of eleven STAR Award Teachers selected by Classroom Connect and NETA and presented her students' work with collaborative online science projects at their conference in California during November, 1996. She has made presentations to school boards and to local, regional, and national conferences including a NASA Mars Online Virtual Conference in 1996 and the 2002 NECC Conference in San Antonio. She recently was awarded a Woodrow Wilson fellowship to spend two weeks at Edwards Air Force base in a NASA workshop. She has had several articles published in national journals and is a former Christa McAuliffe Educator Nominee.
Congratulations to Marilyn Wall!!