Stigler Publics Schools Valorie Lewis has been "named one of the top 20 teachers in the United States and a member of the USA Today's ALL USA TEACHER TEAM for 2007. Mrs. Lewis received a large trophy, $500 dollars for herself, and $2000 for the Stigler School District. Mrs. Lewis was nominated by Rita Echelle, former school counselor and parent of 2 of her students."

In his state of the State speech, Gov. Brad Henry said,

Among our ranks of great teachers is Valorie Lewis, a third-grade teacher in Stigler. Her story is truly inspirational. Raised in utter poverty, Valorie and her family struggled simply to survive -- homeless and not knowing when their next meal would come.

Valorie knows all too well the challenges of an at-risk childhood. That experience is what drove her to become a teacher. And her success in the classroom has been extraordinary. In fact, USA Today recently named her one of the top 20 teachers in the entire nation.

Valorie is committed to the children of Oklahoma, and we must keep our commitment to her and raise teacher pay to the regional average. Please help me honor Valorie Lewis, who is with us in the gallery today.

The Sequoya Times interviewed Lewis, who described some of her innovative teaching techniques:

And Lewis passes that inspiration, along with empathy and understanding, to her students through creative teaching that makes children want to come to school.

Those teaching methods include using chocolate to teach geometry. Lewis said the children learn about where cocoa comes from, learn how it is processed on Hershey's Web site on the Internet, and they use M&Ms and Hershey bars for their math and geometry lessons. Chocolate Day is always in March, and she is preparing for that lesson now.

She also uses "Morning Munchers" to teach math, "Brain Olympics" to combine math and physical education, a "Wrangler of the Week" poster to build students' self esteem, as well as international correspondence to teach geography, and role-playing to teach interpersonal skills.

Lewis said about teaching:

I really do love it. I'm just enough of a kid that I love it. I try to make it fun for the children, which makes it fun for me.

Labels: Brad Henry, Education

Posted at 3/04/2008 07:07:00 AM