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Last updated 10/16/02 |
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The NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence
2002 Finalist and Recipient of The Horace Mann–
NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence
Anita Gibson
Alabama Education Association
 Anita Gibson has been an elementary school teacher in DeKalb County, Alabama, since 1988, working with students in the first through fifth grades. For the 2002-2003 school year, she accepted a challenging new assignment as lead teacher for the county's "Success for All/Exito para Todos" pilot program, an initiative to better serve the growing population of English Language Learners in the area.
Mrs. Gibson creates a vibrant, joyful environment in her classroom by using cooperative learning techniques and hands-on, multidisciplinary activities. She has guided her students in building a model of the Bering Land Bridge covered with ice, digging a landfill on school grounds, and creating a Jurassic-Age ecosystem complete with flying pterodactyls and erupting volcanoes. Mrs. Gibson frequently invites community members to make special presentations to her class, and has organized a "Spend the Night Reading" event at the public library, in which the mayor, police chief, superintendent, teachers, and parents read with and tell stories to students all night.
Mrs. Gibson has been an active member of the DeKalb Education Association since she began teaching, holding the offices of president, vice president, and secretary-treasurer, as well as various committee assignments. She was one of the first graduates of the Alabama Education Association (AEA) Emerging Leaders School and has served the AEA in numerous capacities, including AEA and NEA director and member of the NEA Priority Schools Initiative Team. Her lobbying efforts for national pay standards in Alabama were featured in the October 2000 issue of NEA Today. "Mrs. Gibson is a natural leader and highly respected among her peers," says AEA President Kathy McVay. "Every teacher in Alabama is proud to be represented by Anita Gibson. She truly portrays the qualities of excellence in education."
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