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43 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, April 3, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 1, 2005 Kathy Staller teaches reading skills to a group of second-graders at Jefferson Elementary School Thursday. Staller is a finalist for a national teaching award. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Connecting with students Jefferson Elementary’s Kathy Staller is a finalist for a national teaching award By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune In unison, four second-grade boys read a story about a poison dart frog. When they get to a description of wriggling tadpoles, teacher Kathy Staller asks them if they know what "wriggle" means. They bound from their chairs to show her their best tadpole moves, then settle back down to their books at a table that wraps around Staller in a semicircle. This kind of energetic interaction is a regular part of Staller’s lessons. "There are different ways to connect with students," she said outside class. "I try to incorporate many things." Her teaching style has attracted national attention. She’s one of 239 finalists for the 2004 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Just four finalists are from Oregon: three science teachers and one math teacher. Advertisement The White House, with the help of the National Science Foundation, gives the award annually, honoring elementary and secondary teachers on alternate years. One math and one science teacher from each state can win the award. Staller, who has taught in Medford since 1988, was nominated for her science lessons as a first-grade teacher at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School last year. When budget cuts eliminated two teaching positions at that school, she transferred to Jefferson Elementary School to work as a reading specialist. She helps small groups of pupils in kindergarten through second grade who struggle with reading. Reading is now second-grader Chase Carson’s favorite classroom activity . "It’s fun," the 8-year-old said. "She’s really nice and we have fun together." Fun is a central part of many of Staller’s lessons, whether she has kids act out vocabulary words or write stories about scientific concepts. "If they have fun when learning, then they are eager to learn," she said. Brain research shows that information linked with positive emotions makes longer-lasting memories, she said. Staller keeps up with the latest research and adjusts her teaching style to incorporate new ideas about learning, said Bob Hartwig, former Abraham Lincoln principal who works in the district office now. "She just jumps in 1,000 percent," he said, noting that Staller came in early, stayed late and even worked over weekends to make sure kids at Abraham Lincoln got what they needed to learn. "She is a meteor star. "Science is just one thing she’s interested in," Hartwig said. "She could teach anything equally well." Staller also is principal bassoonist with the Rogue Valley Symphony and incorporates music in her classroom. She’s worked many years with talented and gifted students. She also helps train fellow teachers to give science lessons, said Teena Staller, her sister-in-law and fellow Jefferson teacher. Teena Staller won the presidential award in 2003 and nominated her sister-in-law as a way to honor the woman who inspired her to become a teacher. "She has that way of bringing learning alive," Teena Staller said. "She is very deserving. She’s done so much with science education." The award winners will be announced mid-month. Winners get a trip to Washington, D.C., for training, a chance to meet the president and $10,000. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Distance Education Diamonds Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Fasa Advertisement s