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2013
Honors and celebrations
Teachers of excellence: jen wermes, explorer middle school & joann
martin, north high school
Not only has Jennifer Wermes taken on a leadership role among English teachers in our state, but she is also one of the premiere teachers in Arizona whose cutting edge use of instructional approaches and technology have been featured in national presentations and publications. As a member of the AETA Executive Council representing the Paradise Valley School District, Jennifer has
provided in-the-trenches insight to the organization concerning the state of education in Arizona as we move through local and federal educational reform programs. She has been a regular presenter at AETA and continues to help plan and implement our annual
conference year-in and year-out. Jennifer’s use of social media, YouTube, Google Chrome, laptops, and iPods was featured in
Teaching Young Adult Literature Today (Rowman and Littlefield, 2012) under “Teaching a Technology-Enhanced Curriculum,” which
highlighted her implementation of technological approaches that improve success for English language learners and special nee ds
children. Jennifer will also be featured in “Full Steampunk Ahead: Using Technology to Teach Young Adult Literature” at this year’s
National Council of Teachers of English Convention. Jennifer holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Secondary English fr om
NAU and ASU.
AETA is proud to honor the backbone of our mission: teachers. Our executive board is made up of middle, high school
and college level teachers. We know what it takes to create
lesson plans that teach our students the reading and writing
skills they need to succeed in any career they choose. No
measure of student learning is complete without our dedicated
teachers. At right, Jim Blasingame honors Jen. Below, colleague Mary Powell awards Joann whose name will be forwarded to NCTE. Congratulations to these two amazing
teachers!
At this year’s Arizona English Teachers’ Association annual conference, Joann Martin was presented with the High School
Teacher of Excellence Award. Martin taught English Composition
courses, in Prescott Valley, at Bradshaw Mountain High School
and Yavapai College, and currently instructs students in language
arts at North High School in Phoenix. Martin consistently motivates her low income, Title I students to attend college by implementing the dual enrollment English 101-102 program at North.
This program allows for students to receive college and high
school credit simultaneously. Once registered, students are afforded the opportunity to graduate high school with six college credits
of English completed. English 101 was not going to be offered at
North this year, so Joann volunteered to teach a class of English
101 that begins at 6:50 am. She does not receive extra pay to instruct this course. When complimented for her efforts Joann
shrugged and replied, “I just want to provide equal opportunities
for students who might not otherwise have the chance to attend
college.” (cont. p. 3)
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Wendy Williams, ASU, coordinator of the AETA Teachers as Writers contest, presents
cash awards and certificates to this year’s winners. At left is Debra LaPlante, winner for
poetry, and right, Renee Poginy, winner for nonfiction. Look for this year’s winning entries in the next Arizona English Bulletin. Congratulations to all the winners and honorable
mentions listed below!
2013 Teachers as Writers Winners & Honorable Mentions
Short Story
1st Place: “Pickles” by Eileen Groom Honorable
Mention: “Eight Candles” by Chris Hazeltine
Nonfiction
1st Place: “Hobos and Handbags” by Renee Poginy
Honorable Mention: “Can I Eat Witchu?” by Tim Ramsey
Poetry
1st Place: “Sticks and Stones and Ceramic Vases” by Debra LaPlante
Honorable Mention: “Missing Mamá” by Joann Martin
JOANN MARTIN: 2013 AETA HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER OF EXCELLENCE
Martin also coaches Academic Decathlon at her high school, competing at the state and national level. She enjoys the
opportunity to work with students as a coach and a mentor. She values the humble roots of her students. “I come from
a middle class background; as such, I appreciate that many of my students cannot afford homes or college for that matter. They are hard workers who will rise to the challenge if afforded the opportunity to succeed.” Martin can be
reached at martin@phoenixunion.org.
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AETA HONORS PHOENIX BOOK COMPANY
This year’s Friend of AETA Award was bestowed by Siiri Julian and Renee
Rude upon the wonderful team of Cori Ashley and Jade Corn, owners of the Phoenix Book Company. PBC is a fixture at our statewide conference and supports other
endeavors including theYoung Authors of Arizona.We are extremely grateful for
their support!
THANK YOU!!
Our conference cochairs work tirelessly
behind the scenes to
deliver a great conference.
Renee Rude, NAU
Duane Roen, ASU
AETA President:
Tricia SindelArrington,ASU