Melissa Taylor and Laura Cross
2007-2008
Outstanding Student Teachers of the Year

          Melissa Taylor and Laura Cross have been honored by ETSU faculty members and student teaching supervisors as the co-winners of the prestigious award of 2007-2008 Outstanding Student Teachers of the Year. This award is presented each academic year to exemplary student teachers in the College of Education. These young ladies were honored at the 2008 Academic Excellence Convocation for their impressive dedication to teaching, as well as their outstanding scholarship.

Laura Cross-ETSU Special Education student teacher at
Dobyns-Bennett High School

Laura Cross is an ETSU undergraduate student studying Special Education in the Department of Human Development and Learning. She is currently student teaching in a self-contained Life Skills classroom at Dobyns-Bennett High School in Kingsport. This program works to motivate students and set them up for success by utilizing the Six Keys of Student Motivation and Success.         Laura successfully implemented a cross-curricular lesson plan that incorporated the skills of sequencing and categorizing that continue to reinforce the class’s year-long unit called "A Job for Me." Laura worked to incorporate the important message of recycling utilizing the category skill sets each of the students needed to develop, based upon IEP goals. Additionally, Laura provided the students with the real-world experience of recycling with a sidewalk field trip to the local recycling center where the students sorted and recycled materials of paper, plastic, glass, and aluminum. Laura Cross has worked to provide the Life Skills students with meaningful experiences that will add to their repertoire of knowledge that will assist them as they move from the classroom into each of their respective lives beyond high school. Laura will be graduating May, 2008, with a B.S. in Special Education along with many honors, including Magna Cum Laude.

Melissa Taylor-ETSU Physical Education student teacher at
Fairmont Elementary School

Melissa Taylor, a student teacher at Fairmont Elementary School in Johnson City, TN, will graduate with a B.S. in Physical Education on May 3, 2008 with the high honor of Summa Cum Laude. She is a member of Alpha Lambda Delta and Kappa Delta Pi honor societies, as well as the recipient of the Mariam Johnson Frutiger Sigma Kappa National Scholarship and the Joan Brandon Hull Memorial Scholarship. Melissa has gone above and beyond her professional duties as a student teacher in the field. She has created exciting lesson plans for the students at Fairmont. Melissa is an exceptional young lady with a promising future ahead of her.

Recipients of Honors from the College of Education
ETSU Graduates of 2008

Lindsay Bowman was chosen by the Department of Curriculum and Instruction as the outstanding student based on academic classification, excellence in scholarship, leadership qualities, tenure as a student, and evidence of exemplary behavior in teaching.  She is graduating with a B.S. in Education, Interdisciplinary Studies.  Among her many honors are: Summa Cum Laude, Golden Key Honor Society, Kappa Delta Pi, Phi Kappa Phi, Academic Performance Scholarship, and Educational Testing Service Recognition of Excellence, PRAXIS Series.

Deirdre Ryan was awarded for superior scholarship and leadership ability in the field of Human Development & Learning.  She is graduating with a B.S. in Special Education.  Her honors include:  Cum Laude, Kappa Delta Pi, Academic Performance Scholarship