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	Last updated 09.07.05

The NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence

2005 Finalist and Recipient of The Horace Mann–
NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence

Kathleen H. Thomas
Delaward State Education Association (DSEA)

Kathleen H. Thomas is a 10th- through 12th-grade marketing education teacher at Caesar Rodney High School in Camden, Delaware.

A National Board Certified Teacher, Ms. Thomas came to the teaching profession 20 years ago after a successful business career in private industry. Her experience in the business world has benefited her students well, as she takes care to give students practical preparation for the world after high school. She challenges her students to design advertising and marketing campaigns, including banner ads, websites, story boards, and the like. She integrates technology into her lessons through the use of a wireless Dell laptop lab. Ms. Thomas explains, “I am committed to preparing kids for life after high school, whether it be to help them get ready for college, prepare them for the realities of advancing in the work force, or simply for life in general. I build community service and volunteerism into my classroom so that everyone gets a sense of civic and self pride.” She feels that the more her students volunteer, the more they get out of life.

Ms. Thomas’ most popular service program, “The Power of Positive,” was designed by and for her students, who visit elementary classrooms in the district just before the Delaware Student Testing Program, to share activities to help boost the younger students’ self esteem about school work and personal struggles. The “hidden lesson” in this activity is for her own students to feel positive about their lives and their ability to help others. Ms. Thomas incorporates “hidden lessons” in many of her classroom activities to teach her students about work ethic, respect, teamwork, and self-disciplines, skills which are critical to students’ future success. She wants her students to feel that they are important and that they have valuable skills. Working alongside the community, her students have created marketing materials for local community groups, participated in activities such as highway clean up, and conducted fundraisers for the New York Firefighters after 9/11. Her programs have been honored with the 2002 Governor’s Youth Volunteer Team Service Award and the Delaware House of Representatives Tribute.

In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Ms. Thomas serves in many capacities within her school, professional association, and local community. For her students, she is advisor for the student council and DECA (an association of marketing students). For her colleagues, she continually asks, “How can we learn together?” She conducts statewide in-service programs for career and technical education teachers. Through the Business, Finance, and Marketing Education Framework Commission, she has helped to develop statewide curricula and activities in line with national standards. She recently completed the PATHWISE Introduction and Framework Induction Program, a statewide teacher induction program, and serves as chair of the Delaware DECA Advisory Committee.

Ms. Thomas is the 2005 Delaware Teacher of the Year. In 2004, she was the Caesar Rodney High School and District Teacher of the Year. In both 2000 and 1986, she was the Delaware Teacher of the Year for Marketing Education. Through DECA, her students have earned top honors at the State Career Development Conference. Ms. Thomas credits her association membership with her success in becoming Teacher of the Year and a National Board Certified Teacher. As a lead mentor in her building and district mentoring coordinator, she encourages all new teachers or candidates seeking National Board Certification to join the National Education Association, DSEA, and Caesar Rodney Education Association, her local association.

Ms. Thomas received her M.S. in Educational Leadership at Wilmington College and her B.S. in Business Management at Wesley College.

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