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		Past Extra Credits September 28 All issues

The U.S. Department of Education is focusing attention on exemplary classroom teachers who are successful in raising academic achievement for all of their students—often through the use of innovative classroom strategies. These teachers are recognized as No Child Left Behind American Stars of Teaching. The following are excerpts from an article in today's Idaho State Journal on Idaho's No Child Left Behind American Star of Teaching:

"Mary Jo Pearson, a first-grade teacher at Lewis and Clark Elementary School, has been recognized as Idaho's No Child Left Behind American Star of Teaching, according to U.S. Education Department Regional spokesman Eric Earling. Lewis and Clark Principal Evelyn Robinson nominated Pearson ѭ because Pearson's students' test scores indicate they consistently perform on grade level by the end of the school year.

"Pearson has a master's degree in reading and emphasizes reading as the foundation for learning in all subject areas. 'It is so exciting to see the light bulb go on and a whole new world open up to children as they learn to make sense out of letters, sounds and words and put it all together to begin to read,' Pearson said. 'And it's rewarding to monitor their growth through the year.'"

"In Pearson's classroom, students also have a third- or fourth-grade reading buddy who comes into the classroom three or four times a week. 'It really helps them,' she said. 'They establish good relationships with the older students, they get good feedback and get to celebrate their success with their buddy.' The reading buddy program benefits both the older and younger students. 'Even older students who are not strong readers come away from it with a stronger sense of themselves as a reader,' Pearson said."

"'She is an excellent teacher,' Robinson said. 'She sets a high standard for her kids, and she knows their needs, and she matches those needs individually.'"

The No Child Left Behind American Stars of Teaching recognition is part of the U.S. Department of Education's Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative. For more information on the many ways the Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative is benefiting teachers, please visit www.ed.gov/teacherinitiative.