|  | Saint Paul Teacher Named American Star of Teaching
10/5/2004 10:50 AMIt's not every day that U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige sends someone to a teacher's classroom to express gratitude for a job well done.
But that's exactly what happened to Brandon Phillips Monday, Oct. 4, when Kristine Cohn, a regional representative for the Department of Education, stopped by Dayton's Bluff Achievement Plus Elementary School to tell him that he's been named an "American Star of Teaching."
Cohn, Superintendent Patricia Harvey and the school's 300 students surprised Phillips, a fifth-grade teacher, with the news in the school's gymnasium.
"It's very nice to have your work recognized by the U.S. Department of Education," said Phillips after receiving the award. "But the real reward is being able to help my students learn and grow."
The award is an effort by national education leaders to recognize effective classroom teachers who are successful in improving the academic performance of their students, and are making a real difference in their students' lives.
A colleague nominated Phillips for the award and he is the only Minnesota teacher recognized.
According to Von Sheppard, principal of Dayton's Bluff, his teacher is worthy of being dubbed a star. "Brandon is a great teacher who always brings out the best in every one of his students," he said. "He has high expectations of his students and supports their efforts to reach those expectations by modeling the type of behavior he talks about."
The Department of Education award announcement says that Phillips was selected because of his involvement in the school's standards-based curriculum and his leadership role in professional development. Since the 2001, the percent of students in his class scoring in the "proficient" range on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment test has increased by 39 percent in math and by 29 percent in reading.
American Stars of Teaching have been identified in every state and the District of Columbia. For more information, visit www.ed.gov. For more information about Dayton's Bluff, visit www.spps.org.
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