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Melissa Reid - Mathematics Program Chair

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Melissa Reid - Mathematics Program Chair

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|  Melissa is a dedicated educator, chair, coworker, and a passionate advocate for developmental math students. Beyond training local teachers in effective classroom strategies,  she has traveled  across NC to share the impact of the (NROC) developmental math curriculum and enhances it with her innovative and creative ideas so that students will achieve the greatest degree of success as they build foundational math skills. Melissa meets with students via Zoom, teaches, chairs a large department, participates on committees, volunteers her time to schoolwide initiatives, and still manages to take care of 4 children. She is a true everyday hero and I'm proud to call her "friend."

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Warren Strickland, High School Pre-Advanced Placement English Teacher

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Warren Strickland, High School Pre-Advanced Placement English Teacher

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| Mr. Strickland has a very cool and calm demeanor. His low-key nature is actually a silent strength when it comes to motivating the students and helping them to focus on their personal success. He has leveraged the NROC platform, to demonstrate the power of tracking student progress to ensure learners spend adequate study time to reach personal and collegiate wide goals. He is definitely a hero on our campus and should be recognized.

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| Virg has brought NROC resources through EdReady Montana to hundreds of schools, teachers and students. She trains and supports them in how to use it and tracks them to be sure they make the most of it along the way. She is a tireless champion of all the ways it can be used to learn!

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Amy Russ, Lead instructor for Transition and Co-requisite English

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Amy Russ, Lead instructor for Transition and Co-requisite English

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|Amy quickly adjusted her courses for online delivery at the beginning of the pandemic and has maintained hybrid and HyFlex options for students through the present. In this challenging year, she forged new paths to differentiated instruction, content support, and technical assistance. Amy provided leadership and coaching for part-time faculty as they learned the nuances of the NROC system and made their own online and hybrid transitions. Amy maintains a positive, encouraging attitude and stays focused on student success, despite any obstacles. She models the "open-door" philosophy of the community college and her commitment and leadership helps our college keep that door open for hundreds of students every year.

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| Rebecca strives to meet students wherever they are on their academic journey. She works to build community and inclusivity in the classroom and incorporates active learning principles. She generously shares feedback to improve NROC resources based on classroom experiences designed to improve academic writing and reading skills. She shares her teaching philosophy this way: “Students learn better when they feel a sense of security, a sense of community, a sense that at least some of their basic needs are being met, and a sense of trust. I work to bridge students’ knowledge with the next new thing, to make connections, and expand their thinking. It all starts with respect  - by treating each student as an equal partner on their learning journey.”

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Selinea Moore-Allen, Dakota Promise Academic Specialist Coach

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Selinea Moore-Allen, Dakota Promise Academic Specialist Coach

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|Selinea has consistently gone above and beyond to provide academic and basic skills support for students transitioning from high school to college. She stepped up efforts to help students manage through personal and college difficulties during the pandemic. With an uncanny ability to help students who feel they “can’t do math," Selinea has found several ways to use EdReady to allow students to realize their dreams.

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Londa Pickett, Director College Transition Center

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Londa Pickett, Director College Transition Center

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| Londa is the most positive person students could meet when they enter the center to begin Transition courses or when they nervously come to take their placement assessment. Always available to support students, faculty, and advisors, Londa has led numerous state and national workshops sharing how a positive atmosphere, supportive faculty, and growth mindset (including EdReady) are keys to retention, success, and completion for ALL students, Londa is an extraordinary educator, leader, and human being!

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| Ms. Aguilar has provided great enthusiasm and drive to strategically employ EdReady. Her leadership, step-by-step directions, and support have aided the team in our efforts to assist, structure, and support our students so that they can grow by leaps and bounds. She shares what she learns and reminds our students to engage with the program to increase their scores and perform better on the TSI.

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Joannie Aldridge, Vance County High School Mathematics Teacher

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Joannie Aldridge, Vance County High School Mathematics Teacher

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| Ms. Aldridge was the G.O.A.T. for our districts' CCRG classes that used the EdReady platform. Not only did she do extensive work with instructional planning for students as it aligned to the units in the platform, she also consistently pulled data reports and shared them so that we could determine next steps for student success. Ms. Aldridge was able to pinpoint exactly where students were in each unit/tier and provided weekly and sometimes daily conferencing with students during their time on the EdReady platform.

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| Rachael teaches in our local correctional facility. When COVID shut down access, Rachael immediately sprang into action  continuing to serve students virtually while spending hours helping move our offices to a new location. Throughout this uncertain time, Rachael has personally reached out to students to listen for ways she can help move them toward their ultimate goals. Tackling issues from transportation to child care, students recognize her genuine care. Rachael is an incredible instructor, co-worker, mother of four, farmhand, and friend to many. Most of all she is deserving of this award because of her commitment to  help students meet and exceed their own goals and expectations.

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| Ms. Williamson has been a tremendous resource for all of the district's English teachers who use EdReady. She, along with our curriculum coach, helped to develop resources that we could use alongside EdReady. In addition, she helped her own students work through the modules so that they may be successful when they go to college.

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Jennifer Leigh, Transitions English Instructor

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Jennifer Leigh, Transitions English Instructor

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| Jennifer continued working from home even while she nursed 3 children and herself back to health from Covid. Unknowingly, I reached out to her for help with teaching and materials for the new Transitions course during this time. She generously shared her extra notes, posters, videos, and even emailed several times to follow up. Without her help, I could not have moved to this new mode of instruction in such a timely fashion. Her professionalism exceeds expectations at her college and mine!

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Nancy Stufflebeam, Student Services Specialist 

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Nancy Stufflebeam, Student Services Specialist 

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| EdReady was deployed at our institution shortly after the staff was sent home due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Not only did Nancy keep staff up-to-date on our transition into EdReady, but she was readily available to answer any questions. Even after working solo for half of the year due to staffing issues, Nancy was one of the first staff members to go back to campus to provide testing services for students who felt more comfortable taking assessments in person.

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Gwenn Eldridge, AVP Academic Transitions & Support  

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Gwenn Eldridge, AVP Academic Transitions & Support  

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| When the pandemic hit, our large statewide network of Ivy Tech campuses had to transition our Knowledge Assessment process with EdReady to an all-virtual process in a very short amount of time. Gwenn not only rose to the challenge of leading this effort, but surpassed what we thought could be done within a complicated institutional structure involving multiple campuses statewide. As a result, we have an amazing, student-friendly, accessible virtual assessment process that prevents barriers for students attempting to enter college. Even in the midst of personal losses and the pandemic crisis, Gwenn helped the college live up to its motto: "Ivy Tech changes lives" (even in the midst of a global health and economic crisis!).

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| Monica is a wonderful supervisor who makes you feel comfortable that you can always go to for advice, concerns, issues, or just general chats that will stay confidential. The value she adds to our department produces measurable results. Our team was already familiar with working remotely, but during this unprecedented pandemic, she demonstrated great management skills in helping us reach new levels of productivity along with ensuring we never miss deadlines.

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| Amy Black
| Greg Cole
| Julianne Koch
| Jessica Galterio
| David Scott
Providing special resources for working parents, engaging speakers, offering expertise with data dashboards, and strategies for continuous improvement!

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| Tim uses EdReady Montana in his classroom every single day to support his adult ed HiSet and college-bound students. He has saved students time and money by mastering skills in EdReady instead of paying for remedial college math classes. He gives his students practical tools and confidence. He is truly an everyday hero!

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|As a teacher and RISE coordinator, Dr. Thomas dedicates her time and passion to prioritize students and be the best teacher possible. She is always on call for any teacher who may need her help, advice, or professional opinion, including mentoring and tutoring others in working with the NROC program to best serve developmental learners. When I hear the word "hero," I think of Dr. Thomas.

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Jan Clifton-Gaw,  Associate Professor Physiology

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Jan Clifton-Gaw,  Associate Professor Physiology

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|With skill support from NROC programs in her hybrid physiology courses, Jan took things a step further to make certain the human touch was still in play when courses went virtual during the pandemic. She scheduled one-on-one meetings three times a session with every student, assigning completion points to help motivate students to spend the 10-15 minutes on the hot seat with her. Deep relationships were built over the last 12 months with this specific strategy that were rarely obtained during face to face learning. Objective outcomes of raw scores, class attendance, and 5% drop rate versus 8% on average support the use of specific scheduled meetings to retain students and help them thrive.

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Dr. Kerri McKenna, Director of Teaching and Learning 

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Dr. Kerri McKenna, Director of Teaching and Learning 

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|Dr. McKenna worked tirelessly to serve the college's faculty during the Covid-19 pandemic. Often working 15-hour days, Kerri was available day and night, including the weekends, to help us organize our classes and create invigorating, creative, and rigorous remote, synchronous courses during the 2020 - 2021 academic year. Her work helped us build such engaging classes that students have requested this modality continue.

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Trena Fletcher, Exceptional Children Teacher

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Trena Fletcher, Exceptional Children Teacher

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| Despite the challenges of remote learning for students during COVID19, Mrs. Fletcher was able to adapt her teaching style based on students' needs - shifting from Zoom to small group sessions face-to-face. For one student in particular - her efforts made all the difference. With no technology or internet at home to complete her assignments, Mrs. Fletcher collaborated with fellow teachers to collect the student's assignments and drop them off on a weekly basis. Before work, Mrs. Fletcher would stop by the student's home to pick up the work to turn it in to the student's teacher for a class grade. This particular student proudly graduated on May 29, 2021.

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| Sandra was a huge asset to Spanish speaking families and their children during the disruptions of the past year. Sandra made sure that every one of our students received working computers, and in some cases, went to their homes to help them learn how to use classroom technologies. Day or evening, she was available to her co-workers, and our students. Our Spanish-speaking families want their children to receive a wonderful education, and Sandra makes that possible.

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Jeffrey Wand, Assistant Professor of Mathematics

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Jeffrey Wand, Assistant Professor of Mathematics

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| While the transition to online learning was difficult for everyone, the math department had already shifted to group-centered class activities rather than lectures. With the shift, Jeffrey became producer as well as teacher. Creating new video lessons, and converting activities to online experiences with Zoom breakouts, Jamboard, and a new LMS, Jeffrey helped remote students immerse in the group-centered experience that had been so successful on campus. Even while welcoming his first child into this world at the hospital, he was able to teach and  keep things consistent for students. Now that's commitment!

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Stephanie Rakes, Elementary School Principal

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Stephanie Rakes, Elementary School Principal

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| Fostering community, preparation under pressure, increased family engagement, exceeding expectations, making learning fun, meeting student needs, Mrs. Rakes leads us above and beyond expectations.

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| In countless one-on-one meetings, Jaspreet encourages students and builds their confidence. Students even begin to enjoy math as she skillfully teaches them with her love of the subject. Colleagues describe Jaspreet as a "warrior" because she fearlessly engages students on a path to success - even meeting face-to face in pandemic conditions to support them.

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|To Cristie, it is so much more than a job. With an eager heart to serve her students and fellow staff, she takes on myriad roles within the NBHS community without hesitation. She's had amazing results managing large classes remotely, while overseeing the schooling of her own two children. Superhero? Without a doubt! She'll never know just how much her consistent positive outlook has helped me grow as an educator and leader in the school this year.

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Misty Jernigan, Exceptional Children Lead Teacher

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Misty Jernigan, Exceptional Children Lead Teacher

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| Ms. Jernigan could be called the behavior specialist of the century. Reaching beyond her case load to help any student get back on track, she is also always there for any staff member who needs some extra support, advice, or direction. She is a Great Teacher and  an asset to this school and county.