This article was written for the Naugatuck News by Mary Lou Bodenlos City Hill Middle School recently earned recognition for two teaching units in the statewide Celebration of Excellence awards program. Celebration of Excellence recognizes Connecticut Public school teachers who have developed exemplary classroon projects. The program aims to honor the dedicated, creative efforts of those working with young people, and increase public awareness of these efforts. Teachers are the primary judges and 827 projects have been recognized since the inception of the program in 1986. This initiative requires teachers to share their work through publication, workshops, and the Internet.
Eligible projects have to be developed and successfully used for two years.
Application requires a large commitment to the project, the application itself, and to the follow up activities. The teachers were invited to present their projects to the Naugatuck Board of Education. They attended a reception with Education Commissioner Theodore Sergi, and a gala in their honor took place at the Farmington Marriott in September of 1998. Translation of their projects into ten page packets will took place during a seminar last summer, making their work available for other teachers across the country. The City Hill Green Team was awarded an honorable mention three years ago for a teaching unit they developed on the school newspaper called, Black and White and Read All Over.