Kohl McCormick Early Childhood Teaching Awards Names Five Chicago Educators as Finalists

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Feb 16, 2011, 11:40 ET

CHICAGO, Feb. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Dedication, innovation, leadership, respect for children and their families, and commitment to professional growth embody the five educators named as finalists of the Kohl McCormick Early Childhood Teaching Awards.

While all finalists vary in technique and approach, each one credited the joy that teaching brings them as the constant that drives them to be the best in the classroom and in their field. The Kohl McCormick Early Childhood Teaching Awards recognize excellence in teaching by educators who work with children from birth to age 8 in the Chicagoland area.

"Once again we were honored to have such an exemplary field of candidates," said Sara Slaughter, Director of the Education Program of the McCormick Foundation. "These five educators illustrate a commitment to lifelong learning that radiates out to their students, families, and communities."

The five teachers were selected from a field of 68 outstanding educators nominated last fall by an esteemed committee of leaders in the field of early childhood education. The fellows of the Kohl McCormick Academy of Outstanding Educators (former Award winners) teamed with other early childhood education leaders to conduct site visits of the most notable nominees.

"Each day these teachers engage their students' imaginations, unlocking each child's full potential with the hope that one day they will pay it forward and transform our world," said Dolores Kohl, President and CEO of the Dolores Kohl Education Foundation. "The Kohl McCormick finalists are clearly the creme de la creme of Chicago's teachers."

Three of the five finalists will be chosen to represent the best of their field, following a final application process that includes written applications and interviews with a panel of experts. Those three honorees will be announced in April, and will be honored at the 2011 Kohl McCormick Early Childhood Teaching Awards luncheon ceremony on Tuesday, June 7, at the Westin Chicago River North.

The three winners will each receive:

A $5,000 cash award
A $1,000 cash award for their school
Induction into the Kohl McCormick Academy of Outstanding Educators
A classroom visit and professional development from the StoryBus
A graduate-level course at The Erikson Institute
Recognition at a formal awards ceremony

The Kohl McCormick Early Childhood Teaching Awards remains unique since its inception when it became the first awards program to formally recognize the contributions of teachers working with children from infancy through third grade. Now in its sixteenth year, the Kohl McCormick Awards program has become a model for recognition of outstanding early childhood educators.

The McCormick Foundation and the Dolores Kohl Education Foundation sponsor the Kohl McCormick Early Childhood Teaching Awards program. To learn more about this program please visit http://www.kohlmccormickawards.org/.

Kohl McCormick Early Childhood Teaching Awards Finalists


Teacher & Grade	School & Phone	Snapshot
Kim Edwards Anderson, Kindergarten	Chase Elementary (CPS) 2021 N. Point 773.534.4185	The $2.00 an hour that she earned in the late Mayor Richard M. Daley's Summer Youth Work Program as a teacher's aide to her former kindergarten teacher did not dissuade her from her love of teaching. Edwards Anderson expects to receive her second masters this summer and celebrates her 26th year teaching.
Nicole Gorton, Early Childhood Autism/ Preschool & Kindergarten	Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez (CPS) 3000 S. Lawndale 773.534.1600	As a teaching cadet in high school, she was the only student to volunteer to work with special-education students. It has since become Gorton's specialty. Her quiet confidence can be credited with giving her students the ability to reach once unexpected goals, and their families the ability to support them.
Kira Hamann, Tuition-based Preschool for All	Ravenswood Elementary (CPS) 4332 N. Paulina 773.534.5525	Excitement and energy abound in Hamann's classroom, and some days neither subside but are muted temporarily. While building their speech abilities, Hamann teaches children sign language. The result: Children, through their own ingenuity, honor the "no talking" rule during naptime yet manage to communicate with one another.
Amy Klauder Fatall, Toddler teacher and school administrator	Urban Child Academy 802 N. Dearborn St. 312.932.7108	Once set to pursue Archeology, a sign for Teach For America shifted her gears. Klauder Fatall says she has never looked back. She has taught, been a reading specialist and an administrator in public schools, charters and private schools, but it is the magic of a child's first five years that continually draws her back into the classroom.
Ziomara Perez, Tuition based Preschool for All	Nettelhorst School (CPS) 3253 N. Broadway 773.534.5810	Perez admits her life revolves around the classroom. Inside the classroom she calls herself a kid at heart and shares that energy with her students. Outside, she volunteers with organizations that maximize the chance that the greater community positively impacts children and their families, too.