Avalon School

St. Paul Educator Receives Regional Outstanding Educator Honors

 The Metro ECSU and the Center for Academic Excellence have announced that a social studies teacher from Avalon School, Nora Whalen, has been named as a regional honoree in the WEM Foundation’s 2010 Outstanding Educator Awards program.

Whalen is being honored in the Teacher Achievement category, which recognizes exemplary teachers who support, inspire and assist students to attain greater learning as evidenced by student achievement.

 Whalen has been teaching for 11 years, and currently teaches geography, American studies and U.S. history to students in grades 7-12 at Avalon School, a teacher-run, project-based learning school co-founded by Whalen. She is described as “part instructor, part administrator, part counselor and all teacher.”

 “Nora has a strong ‘teacher-owner’ mentality and is consistently looking at the bigger pictures and finding ways for our school to be more efficient and stronger,” stated Gretchen Sage-Martinson, Avalon School program coordinator. “Through her work as a member of the co-op, Nora has consistently worked to make Avalon a stronger, more student-centered school.”

 Avalon opened as an independent public school in the fall of 2001 for 120 upper grades students, and now has an enrollment of 180, the maximum number of students the school currently allows. The small school prides itself on its ability to individualize its approach for each student and connect with them one-on-one. The school allows teachers great freedom to develop new and innovative courses of study. Student interest often drives Whalen’s course topics. Her current students’ interest in farming, food choices and the local food movement prompted Whalen to offer a geography course titled “The Geography of Food Production.” During the course, students listened to podcasts, watched YouTube clips posted by those involved in the movement, visited local grocery stores and listened to guest speakers representing different aspects of the food industry.

 “Avalon School is the living embodiment of my philosophy of education and a place that I hope inspires other educators,” stated Whalen, who defines her career in the work she has done with her colleagues to open and run the school.

For each course, Whalen requires students to complete independent projects using Avalon’s guidelines. Students must develop critical questions, create a deliverable to share information, pay close attention to resources they find as well as those provided by Whalen, and fulfill a variety of requirements to address specific standards. By choosing how they present information, students can incorporate personal interests such as computer drawing and photography into their projects.

In addition to the Teacher Achievement Award, honorees are recognized with the Ethics in Education Award (exemplary educators who embody ethical behavior and promote ethical development for students through classroom or school activities, policies or curriculum) and the Academic Coach of the Year Award (classroom teachers that are exemplary coaches of student teams who participate and compete in academic challenges endorsed by the Minnesota Academic League Council).

 Six educators received statewide honors, and 12 educators were named as regional honorees for the 2010 WEM Foundation Outstanding Educator Awards.

The Center for Academic Excellence (CAE) is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and recognizing hight levels of academic achievement for students and teachers. In addition, CAE acts as a catalyst for increasing student achievement through improved school performance and accountability. CAE works to foster partnerships that provide educational opportunities and trainings for its members. For more information on CAE or the WEM Outstanding Educator Program, visit www.mncae.org