2000 Principal Service-Learning Leadership Recognition Award Winners
2000 Blue Ribbon Winner Bob Cullison, Gateway School, Carroll County Honorable Mentions Stephen Asplen, Bohemia Manor Middle School, Cecil County Donald Barron, Montgomery Village Middle School, Montgomery County Laura D'Anna, Patterson High School, Baltimore City Faith Hermann, Hereford Middle School, Baltimore County Claire Kondig, Thurmont Middle School, Frederick County Joseph Mascari, Magnolia Middle School, Harford County Gary Reichenbecher, Northern Garrett High School, Garrett County Marian White-Hood, Kettering Middle School, Prince George's County ------------------------------------------------------------------- Blue Ribbon Winner Bob Cullison Principal, Gateway School, Carroll County Mr. Cullison is tremendously supportive of his service-learning school coordinator and makes sure she has opportunities to conduct in-service sessions for all staff on service-learning. He allocates funding for service-learning field trips and other resources the staff might need to carry out quality projects. Mr. Cullison invites school officials and the media to his school to observe service-learning in action and to participate in celebrations of successful projects. He also has nominated both staff and students for special countywide and national recognition for a service-learning job well done. Mr. Cullison has even taken his enthusiasm for service-learning on the road. Mr. Cullison, Elissa Streaker (a teacher at Gateway), and two students traveled to Rhode Island last spring to present a workshop at the National Youth Leadership Conference on the value of service-learning. Impressed by the value of presenting the NYLC workshop, Mr. Cullison has sought other opportunities to co-present workshops on service-learning with his students. They will once again share their expertise as presenters at the National Dropout Prevention Conference in Baltimore in October. Recently, Mr. Cullison enacted a requirement that students participate in a Social Skills Class in an effort to enhance the quality of life for students. The service-learning school coordinator, under the direction of her principal, trained all teachers. Mr. Cullison's vision for the class was that it would give students an opportunity to put their social skills into action and practice. In fact, a major project for the current class will be to organize the Harvest for the Hungry food drive for the entire school this year. Students practice social skills and citizenship because of Mr. Cullison's vision. "It is one thing to encourage and promote service-learning with a traditional population of students, but it takes organization and creativity to promote service-learning for at-risk students. Mr. Cullison is willing to make special arrangements and go the extra mile for his students and faculty," says Estelle Sanzenbacher, Service-Learning Coordinator. Honorable Mentions (In alphabetical order) Stephen Asplen Principal, Bohemia Manor Middle School, Cecil County Mr. Asplen fosters an ongoing commitment to quality service-learning by providing resources, time, funding and encouragement for staff and students. He keeps informed about the quality of service-learning in his school through progressive formal and informal feedback such as classroom observations, teacher team meetings, grant reports, media coverage, student and parent talks, and regular interaction with the building level service-learning coordinator. According to the school district Service-Learning Coordinator, Sonny Tenney, Mr. Asplen gives his service-learning team "the freedom to dream and soar." "Mr. Asplen has devoted exceptional time and energy to support a teacher movement to institutionalize service-learning. He has been able to effectively facilitate the infusion of a quality service-learning program in a multi-disciplinary learning environment. Mr. Asplen has conceptually accepted service-learning as an integral part of the total educational program for middle school students," says Tenney. Donald Barron Principal, Montgomery Village Middle School, Montgomery County "Mr. Barron supports service-learning in his school through awareness about service-learning, encouraging staff to attend training and maintaining consistency in the local school service-learning contact," says Kris Leary, Service-Learning Contact. He promotes high quality service-learning by recognizing students and staff for a job well done and supporting field trips. Mr. Barron also monitors how service-learning is implemented in the school by observing teachers as they work, gathering reports from staff, and getting updates from his school service-learning contact. Laura D'Anna Principal, Patterson High School, Baltimore City As a second year principal at Patterson High School, Miss D'Anna was determined to dramatically improve her school's service-learning program. In order to generate new energy, enthusiasm and expertise on service-learning, Miss D'Anna decided to allocate a portion of her school budget to hire a full-time service-learning coordinator who could train staff, encourage students, and reach out to community organizations to form project partnerships. With her school coordinator, Mary Otho, at her side, Miss D'Anna was able to assist 96% of her students to complete their service-learning requirement by March of their senior year, compared to 34% the previous year. An outcome of Miss D'Anna's program improvement efforts is an enhanced image of her school and students in the community. "The Patterson students not only eliminated many physical problems through hard manual work, academic strategies, and collaborative efforts, but they built trust and amicable relationships where none existed with the residents and neighbors of the school," describes Marian Finney, Office of High School Improvement. Faith Hermann Principal, Hereford Middle School, Baltimore County Ms. Hermann encourages her department chair persons and staff to find opportunities to incorporate service-learning into the curriculum in an active and worthwhile way. Always on the look out for great project ideas, she continually shares information with staff so they can implement meaningful projects. Ms. Hermann's goal is to promote a life-long commitment in her students to serving and caring for others. "She serves as a role model to both staff and students and believes that learning involves much more than ingesting information," says Mary Keene, Student Service-Learning Coordinator, Hereford Middle School. She continues, "Faith believes that student service-learning in it's truest form promotes the ability of young people to deal with each other and those around them in a sharing - caring atmosphere." Claire Kondig Principal, Thurmont Middle School, Frederick County For more than a decade now, Claire Kondig has advocated for her staff and students to become involved in meaningful service-learning activities. Her involvement with service-learning predates Maryland's service-learning graduation requirement by many years. With her years of experience, Ms. Kondig is very knowledgeable about the elements necessary to ensure that service-learning projects are of the highest quality so that projects provide deep and meaningful experiences for her students, as well as meet community needs. Ms. Kondig recently added the Character Counts! program to her school and blends the character education and service-learning programs together. "Claire has created a culture of service to others and community at her school. There is great value in being an early leader in any initiative. However, sustaining that leadership over time is even worthier of recognition," says Max White, Service-Learning Supervisor. Joseph Mascari Principal, Magnolia Middle School, Harford County As a teacher, Joseph Mascari was so interested in learning more about service-learning that he attended a four-day teacher training workshop sponsored by the Maryland Student Service Alliance. As a principal, he has continued to show a commitment and enthusiasm for service-learning as an instruction strategy. Mr. Mascari supports his teachers as they carry out service-learning projects by offering them opportunities to attend trainings and share their expertise with one another, as well as allocating resources for materials and transportation for service-learning projects. "In Harford County, no principal is more supportive or more knowledgeable about service-learning than Mr. Joseph Mascari. Mr. Mascari's school is recognized as our premier service-learning school. His teachers understand the value of service-learning activities and incorporate high quality service-learning projects in their regular instruction," says William Ekey, Director of Secondary Education. Gary Reichenbecher Principal, Northern Garrett High School, Garrett County Staff and students at Northern Garrett High School have flexibility to carry out service-learning projects effectively because of Mr. Reichenbecher's efforts. At his school, he has initiated and supported numerous initiatives to ensure students meaningfully engage in service-learning - from including information on service-learning in freshman orientation, to assigning seniors who have not completed service-learning to a structured activity period where they are given assistance to complete their requirement, to recognizing students who perform outstanding service at the Senior Awards Ceremony. Mr. Reichenbecher's involvement does not end at the school door. In his school system, Mr. Reichenbecher has participated on the local service-learning advisory board and effectively advocates for continuous program improvement. Mr. Reichenbecher "has had strong input into how to make the service-learning program better," Karen Ray, Service-Learning Coordinator. Marian White-Hood Principal, Kettering Middle School, Prince George's County At Dr. White-Hood's school, character development is emphasized. Service-learning is seen as an integral part of character development. Dr. White-Hood is a leader who truly is a role model for her staff and students. She teaches caring by caring, and commitment by being committed to her community. She encourages and recognizes staff for developing quality service-learning projects. An example one of her encouragement approaches is the Monthly Platinum Rule she created that acknowledges staff involved with service-learning through memos, notes and other treats. Dr. White-Hood promotes quality service-learning by nurturing and encouraging her staff to be their best. It appears that her staff thinks she is the best: "Teaching service-learning requires patience, insight, fortitude, and faith. She models those qualities! Dr. White-Hood develops staff members who understand the importance of personal commitment to the world...Dr. White-Hood is an inspirational leader!" say Josephine Smith and Frances Rocha, staff at Kettering Middle School.