Finalists Also Announced At Ceremony Honoring Parent Volunteers For Positive Impact On Maryland Public Schools

COLUMBIA, Md., May 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Wendy Panor of Queen Anne's County has been named statewide winner of the second annual Comcast Parent Involvement Matters Awards program. State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick and Comcast Regional Senior Vice President Fred Graffam made the announcement this evening at a special ceremony held at Wilde Lake High School's Jim Rouse Theater for the Performing Arts.

By bringing a specialized, multi-sensory teaching-learning strategy found to be successful for language-deficient children--known as The Association Method--to Kennard Elementary School and Queen Anne's County, Ms. Panor not only helped her own son with his language difficulties, but assisted many other children with speech disorders in the school system. In addition, she is an active volunteer during Bay Days, participates in the Character Counts program, and in the many events and activities held at Kennard Elementary and Centreville Middle Schools.

Ms. Panor was selected from five finalists also announced at the award ceremony. The finalists were narrowed down from a list of 24 semifinalists announced in March. In addition to Ms. Panor, the other finalists were:

• Mark Lewis - Patapsco High School, Baltimore County Public Schools
• James Carroll - Calvert Middle School, Calvert County Public Schools
• Brian Barron - Myersville Elementary School, Frederick County Public Schools
• Ann English - Rockville High School, Montgomery County Public Schools

"Wendy Panor personifies the hard work that takes place every day in our public schools," Dr. Grasmick said. "Parental involvement has been key in Maryland's success and has allowed our schools to be ranked number one in the nation. We are grateful to have Comcast as our partner in spotlighting the incredible achievements of these remarkable parents."

"Comcast places an emphasis on community investments that foster learning and create the best opportunities for our youth," said Graffam. "Parental involvement, such as that demonstrated by this year's honorees, is instrumental in building bright futures for young people across the state, and we hope this program will help inspire others to take an active stance in public education."

In addition to the finalist and statewide winner announcements, Kristen Ruiz of Prince George's County, was presented with the first ever JoAnne L. Carter Memorial Award in recognition of her parental involvement and work at three Prince George's County schools. This award was conceived in honor of JoAnne L. Carter, Deputy State Superintendent for the Maryland State Department of Education, who was lost to cancer on February 25, 2009. Ms. Carter was dedicated to providing the very best education to all children. A parent herself, she also was a staunch advocate for parental involvement in education and was intimately involved with the Comcast Parent Involvement Matters Awards in its first year. The JoAnne L. Carter Memorial Award will be given annually to a parent that exemplifies all that she held dear.

The Comcast Parent Involvement Matters Awards is the nation's first statewide award program of its kind. A collaboration between Comcast and the Maryland State Department of Education, the program recognizes parents and guardians for their exceptional support of public education. Parents were nominated for demonstrating significant, positive impact in their communities across five areas of parental involvement: Communication, Volunteering, Learning, Decision Making and Community Collaboration. The statewide winner was awarded a cash prize of $1,000 and the four remaining finalists each received $250 to further their efforts to improve their public schools.

Comcast Parent Involvement Matters Awards Finalists

Mark Lewis - Baltimore County

Serving as President of the Vocal Boosters, Mark Lewis has promoted and supported the many activities and events of Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts' Music Department. He has also helped strengthen communication between many parent groups at the school. For many students, Mark has served as a positive role model.

James Carroll - Calvert County

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) have become critical components for Maryland's future success. Jim Carroll has helped thirteen schools in Calvert County Public Schools--beginning with Barstow Elementary and Calvert Middle Schools--increase their STEM initiatives through robotics using the FIRST Lego League program. Students, staff, and parents have had the opportunity to learn engineering and problem-solving skills.

Brian Barron - Frederick County

Over the course of 5 years, Brian Barron has been volunteering at Myersville Elementary School, teaching American Sign Language (ASL) and discussing the deaf community and culture with students as early as kindergarten. He currently reaches 17 classes for more than 350 students.

Ann English - Montgomery County

Ann English's expertise in landscape architecture has been instrumental in revitalizing the greenhouse and creating a hands-on horticulture program at Rockville High School as well as the installation of a rain garden and landscaped courtyard at the school. Serving as President of the Booster Club, Ann has established new relationships and improved communication between student groups, increased fundraising efforts, and expanded funding to new groups.

JoAnne L. Carter Memorial Award Recipient

Kristen Ruiz - Prince George's County

As President of three PTAs - Bond Mill Elementary, Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle, and Laurel High School - Kristen Ruiz has been a powerhouse of leadership in improving education in Prince George's County. Kristen's endeavors have provided teachers and staff additional funding for classroom supplies and materials; new audio/visual equipment for the school; and financial assistance to the physical education, music, art, media center, and safety programs. Kristen also founded the Drama Club at Bond Mill Elementary as well as the LHS Discount Card and e-school newsletter at Laurel High School.

About Comcast

Comcast Corporation (www.comcast.com) is the nation's leading provider of entertainment, information and communication products and services. With 24.1 million cable customers, 15.3 million high-speed Internet customers, and 6.8 million Comcast Digital Voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of cable systems and in the delivery of programming content.

Comcast's Eastern Division serves six million residential and business customers across Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, DC. The Eastern Division is based in Oaks, Pennsylvania and employs more than 20,000 people.

SOURCE Comcast

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