Three talented Washington Middle School teachers were recently treated like movie stars while attending the Disney Teacher of the Year 2005Award Ceremony at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
Kim Austin, Patty Lefford and Melissa Yost were given the red-carpet treatment.
“We felt like we were at the Oscars,” said Mrs. Lefford. “They gave us designer dresses and jewelry to borrow for the ceremony. We met stars like actor, Hector Alizondo.”
The teachers, who were selected from 50,000 nationwide nominees, visited the park for five days. They made a group presentation about their teaching styles and heard from the other 42 teachers in attendance. They also attended a one-day professional development seminar in preparation for an October trip to Disneyworld, where they will send six days at a Professional Development Institute and learn to refine their own innovative teaching approaches by sharing ideas and learning how to engage other teachers to build an effective collaborative teaching culture at their own school.
In addition to these activities, the teachers participated in a Disney parade and had an awards ceremony in front of Cinderella’s Castle. They also received a tour of the Disney studios where the saw the Alias and Lost sets.
“It was a wonderful experience,” said Mrs. Austin. “As we walked around the park, employees and total strangers would come up and say ‘we love teachers’ and tell us how a teacher made a difference in their lives. The entire experience was first-rate.”
As part of the award, the three teachers will split $10,000 in prize money and Washington Middle School was also awarded $5,000.
