June 17, 2005

HIGH SCHOOL SCENE

Four teachers from Silver Creek High School won the Dorothy Wright Outstanding Teaching Awards. Pictured are, back row, Ted Okano and Todd Seal, and front row, June Chen and Laurie Weckesser.

(From left) JefferyLynn Davis and Karen Cocovich from Mt. Pleasant High School recently won the Dorothy Wright Outstanding Teaching Awards.

Local teachers earn Dorothy Wright Outstanding Teaching Awards

Four teachers from Silver Creek High School—June Chen, Ted Okano, Todd Seal, and Laurie Weckesser—and two teachers from Mt. Pleasant High School—JefferyLynn Davis and Karen Cocovich—recently received the Dorothy Wright Outstanding Teaching Awards.

The awards were established in 1987 as a memorial to a former member of San Jose State University’s English Department who distinguished herself for her commitment to teacher education. Wright taught at San Jose State for 30 years before retiring in 1987.

What makes the award unique is that former students nominate the recipients. To identify worthy candidates, the English Department circulates questionnaires in its freshman composition courses asking students to identify those teachers who best prepared them for their college writing courses.

Hundreds of the questionnaires are collected and tabulated, and the honorees are recognized in a campus ceremony attended by English Department faculty, students and other members of the University Community.

The success of the SJSU English Department’s own program rests upon the dedication and idealism of the area’s high school English teachers.

Mt. Pleasant band wins Heritage Festivals competition

Ben Fobert (inset), music department chairperson at Mt. Pleasant High School, led his band to victory at the Heritage Festivals 2005 band competition on Friday, April 1, in Las Vegas.

The band placed first in a competition of 12 high schools from the Western region of the United States, including schools from California, Texas, Utah and Arizona.

“Winning this competition was very successful for students, who stepped up to the challenge of playing difficult music against more established music programs,” said Fobert, who has been at Mt. Pleasant for four years in his first teaching assignment.