Foundation Alumni Awards 2009

Curry School Alumni Honored

Updated 10/12/09

Alumni award recipients

Nine of the ten 2009 Curry Foundation Alumni Award recients gathered at UVa in October for banquet honoring their achievements.

The Story

June 15, 2009 — The Curry School of Education Foundation at the University of Virginia has announced the winners of its Outstanding Alumni Awards for 2009, which recognize exemplary contributions to the field of education. All winners will receive their awards at a dinner this fall.

Two recipients were selected for the honor of Curry School Distinguished Alumni: Alfredo J. Artiles and Andrew J. Rotherham.

Artiles (M.Ed. ’89, Ph.D, ’92) is recognized for his outstanding scholarship and service to advance the education of children with disabilities. He is a Borderlands Professor of Education in the College of Education at Arizona State, with a joint appointment in the Transborder Studies Department.

His scholarship examines the role of culture on learning within the contexts of special education placement practices and teacher learning in urban multicultural schools. He has published extensively for research, policy, and practice audiences in the general, special, and bilingual education fields. He has conducted research in the U.S. as well as in Latin America.

“Dr. Artiles is at the forefront of his field with a strong commitment to improving the lives of children who have been marginalized by their communities,” said Curry School dean Robert Pianta. rotherham

Rotherham (M.Ed. ’00) was selected for his outstanding professional efforts to improve national public education policy. “Mr. Rotherham is one of the most influential nonprofit, private sector leaders in the nation, working to inform and advance public educational policy,” said Robert Pianta.

Rotherham is cofounder of EducationSector, an independent education policy think tank. He has served in policymaking roles at the national and state level and helped launch several educational reform organizations. He writes a monthly column for US News & World Report, as well as the blog, Eduwonk.com. During the Clinton administration, he served at the White House as the Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy. In 2005 Governor Mark Warner appointed Rotherham to the Virginia Board of Education, a position in which he served until 2009.

Elaine Fogliani (M.Ed. ’74) received the Outstanding Superintendent Award. She has worked since 2004 as superintendent of Westmoreland County Public Schools. Fogliani’s leadership there is credited with helping all four schools in this rural division achieve accreditation, improving pass rates on state standards of learning tests, upgrading technology throughout the district, and bringing 40 onsite dual enrollment courses to Washington and Lee High School.

Fogliani has served public schools in Virginia for over thirty years. In 2008 she was honored as the Region 3 Superintendent of the Year. Her previous professional experience includes executive director of the Southside Virginia Business and Education Commission, regional services representative for the Virginia Department of Education, and assistant superintendent for the Town of West Point Public Schools.

Two recipients share the Outstanding Principal Award this year: John Betterton and Barry Rosenberg.

Betterton (M.Ed. ’72) was principal of Bethel Hill Elementary School in Roxboro, No. Carolina, for 15 years. He then retired in 2000 from the Person County School System to become the founding principal of Bethel Hill Charter School, where he presently serves. Betterton received a Points of Light Award for Excellence from the Bush Foundation in 2003 and was the Charter School’s Wachovia Principal of the Year in 2004. Betterton is a passionate advocate for the charter school movement and is currently chair of the North Carolina Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

Rosenberg (M.Ed. ’81) is Prince William County’s longest serving principal. He has been at Swans Creek Elementary since 2001. For the past four years under Rosenberg’s leadership, Swans Creek has earned the division’s School of Excellence award. This award recognizes schools demonstrating high levels of student performance on the Virginia Standards of Learning tests, both for students performing on grade level and those performing below grade level. Rosenberg was 2007-08 president of the Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals and currently serves on the Commonwealth Educational Roundtable and the Statewide K-12 Educational Advisory Council.

Three excellent teachers were selected for recognition this year. They each will receive a $500 grant from the Curry School Foundation to be used for professional development:

The Outstanding Elementary School Teacher is Heather Johnson (M.T. ’95). Johnson is a physical education teacher at Jessie P. Miller Elementary School in Bradenton, Fla. Johnson is well-recognized throughout Florida for her involvement with the World Sport Stacking Association. She organized a sport stacking club at her school, developed a demonstration team to help build interest in the sport in other communities, and then directed a regional tournament, now in its third year, that includes over 200 student participants representing four states. She has been a National Board Certified Teacher since 2002.

Esther Adams (M.T. ’01) of Walter Johnson High School, Bethesda, Md., received the Outstanding High School Teacher award. She began her career at the Walworth Barbour American International School in Israel, where she taught for two years. She has taught history and government classes at Johnson High since 2003. In 2005, her school boasted the highest proportion of total school population among schools of similar size to achieve an exam grade of 3 or higher in AP World History. For this achievement Adams and three social studies department colleagues received special recognition by the College Board in its annual report. Adams then led a team of authors to write an AP History review book, published by Houghton Mifflin. Adams spends her summers as academic dean of The American International School in Switzerland. She also supports the development of new high school social studies teachers serving Washington DC area schools in the Teach for America program.

The Outstanding Middle School Teacher award went to Carla Hunt (M.T. ’95). Hunt has taught high school and middle school mathematics courses for over 30 years. She began teaching at Albemarle High School in 1992. In 2007 an eighth-grade honors geometry course was added to her duties so she could help ensure the preparation of middle school students for high school. Hunt was recognized as the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Region V Teacher of the Year in 2006. She has been a leader in developing and sharing instructional strategies for block scheduling and co-wrote a book on the topic, “Teaching Mathematics in the Block,” published in 1999 by Eye on Education.

Candidates for each of the Outstanding Alumni Awards are nominated by members of the Curry community and professional colleagues.

The Foundation also honors one outstanding faculty member and one outstanding staff member each year.

The Outstanding Staff Award recipient is Phyllis Palmore. Palmore is an admissions/enrollment specialist in the Curry Admissions Office. "She is a team player and problem solver," wrote Joanne McNergney, assistant dean of admissions, in her letter nominating Palmore. "A frequent question she raises is 'How can I help?'"

Timothy R. Konold was selected for the Outstanding Professor Award. Knoold is an associate professor and coordinator of the research, statistics, and evaluation program. He is recognized by students as a faculty member who is easy to approach and who shows a genuine interest in their learning. Faculty trust him and respect his problem-solving capabilities, according to Professor Emeritus Richard Abidin. Konold recently completed a year as chair of the Curry School Faculty Council.

Curry School of Education | University of Virginia

Curry Foundation