*Peter Noonan, assistant superintendent for instructional services, has been named one of ten top educational leaders under the age of 40 by Scholastic Administr@tor magazine.

Noonan, who has served in his current position since August 2007, is a former assistant superintendent for Cluster VII and a former principal of Centreville High and Lanier Middle Schools. In the article, Noonan names the establishment of eCART (electronic curriculum assessment resource tool) as his biggest accomplishment in his current position so far. eCART enables teachers to access curriculum and lesson plans electronically.

The list of top ten educational leaders also includes founders of private educational academies, heads of public school systems, a state commissioner of education, and a teacher. For more information, visit http://www.scholastic.com/administrator/feb09/index.asp.

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* Deborah Roudebush, who teaches physics and Advanced Placement (AP) physics at Oakton High School, has been awarded the Excellence in Pre-College Physics Teaching Award from the American Association of Physics Teachers. Roudebush, who has taught at Oakton since 1999 and served as science department chair for three of those years, was praised for her use of hands-on labs to teach concepts and for teaching reasoning and logic skills.

Roudebush earned national board certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) in 2001 and is a former recipient of the Virginia Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching for secondary science. She wrote the content for the FCPS online physics course as well as serving as teacher for the course and was responsible for establishing a science investigation course for motivated juniors and seniors. (view press release)

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* Two FCPS employees were recently honored by the Virginia Art Education Association at its annual conference held in November at the Westfield Marriott. Carla Jaranson (far right ), art teacher at Laurel Ridge, was named the Virginia Elementary Art Educator of the Year in addition to being named the Northern Virginia Elementary Art Teacher of the Year. Kate Sternberg (right), art teacher at Stone, was named the Northern Virginia Middle School Division Art Teacher of the Year.

Selected by their peers, teachers who receive this award each year best represents the Virginia Art Education Association's mission to promote, support, and advance visual arts education through professional development, leadership, research, and service.

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* Jackie Hechtkopf, librarian at Timber Lane who publishes under the pseudonym, Jacqueline Jules, is the author of a new book for children about the creation of the United States Constitution. Unite or Die: How Thirteen States Became a Nation dramatizes the conflicts and compromises of the 1787 Constitutional Convention in the form of a school play performed by exuberant young actors dressed as the 13 original Colonies. The book began as a skit Hechtkopf wrote for Timber Lane Elementary School students to perform on Constitution Day in 2005.

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* Stuart High was featured as a Breaking Ranks school at the annual conference of the National Association of Secondary School Principals in San Diego. Breaking Ranks schools are schools that have a reputation for quality and innovative practices with challenging populations, and Stuart was featured because of its literacy program, Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) program, and International Baccalaureate Middle Years program (IBMYP).

As part of the award, a team of staff members presented a workshop titled, "Stepping Up to High School," that discussed proven strategies for increasing student achievement. The Stuart staff members who gave the presentation were (pictured from left to right) Eric Welch, Dave Roylance, Shawn DeRose, Deidre Lavery (principal at Glasgow), Pamela Jones, and Michelle Whalen.

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* Shelly Carney, master control specialist at Sprague Technology Center, has been selected as the March Mentor of the Month by MentorWorks, part of the Business and Community Partnerships office. Carney was nominated by Kasey Cain, the mentoring program coordinator at Annandale Terrace. The nomination states that Shelly “has creatively come up with ways to engage and connect” with the boy she mentors. She recently, for example, brought in a digital camera and, with her mentee, took many interesting pictures around the school. 

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How Do I Get Mentioned in About Our People?

Submit your good news for About Our People to Supergram editor Andy Grunig at andy.grunig@fcps.edu. We want to hear from you!

What Type of Information Is Used in About Our People?

The following categories of items will be published:

• Employees who receive regional, state, or national awards for their professional accomplishments.
• Employees elected to serve on regional, state, or national education organizations.
• Employees who give presentations at regional, state, or national meetings.
• Employees who publish articles or books.
• Those who successfully defend doctoral dissertations.
• Those who receive grants or are selected for scholarships that involve travel or the sharing of ideas.

Editor's Note: Send your electronic photo along with your good news.

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