LEADERSHIP IN PUBLIC EDUCATION
Champlin Park’s
Lori Brumbaugh
named Regional
Teacher of the Year
Lori Brumbaugh, a
Family and Consumer
Sciences (FCS) teacher at
Champlin Park High
School (CPHS), was
recognized as the
Association for Career
and Technical Education
(ACTE)/ Region III Teacher
of the Year. In receiving the award, it is believed
that Brumbaugh is the first ever FCS teacher to
win the honor in Region III, which covers the
states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri and
Wisconsin in addition to Minnesota.
The award recognizes the finest career and
technical teachers at the middle/secondary
school level who have demonstrated innovation
in the classroom, commitment to their students
and dedication to the improvement of Career
and Technical Education in their institutions and
communities.
Brumbaugh has been instrumental in offering
Anoka-Hennepin students the opportunity to
take early childhood careers and child develop-
ment courses and gain articulated college credit.
The students also have been able to acquire
valuable hands-on experiences working in school
readiness programs with children ages 3-5.
Brumbaugh has been a curriculum leader at
the district, regional and state level and recently
worked with her colleagues on the district FCS
courses, cross-walking the national FCS stan-
dards and aligning Minnesota state frameworks
to course outcomes. She has also led curriculum
workshops throughout the state. Brumbaugh,
who has spent her entire 25 year career in the
district, was also named the 2017 Minnesota
Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher of the
Year. n
Amy Thering serving
as president of state
school nutrition
association
When the Minnesota
School Nutrition
Association (MSNA)
installed leadership for
the 2018-19 school year,
Anoka-Hennepin child
nutrition business spe-
cialist Amy Thering was
selected as association
president. The selection follows a strong
record of service within the statewide organi-
zation serving as Vice-Chair, Chair Elect and
Secretary/Finance chair over the past ten
years.
In her work with Anoka-Hennepin, Thering
is responsible for development and coordina-
tion of financial planning and monitoring,
compliance with federal and state and federal
rules, reimbursement procedures, inventory
and more. Anoka-Hennepin operates one of
the largest student nutrition programs in
Minnesota, serving over 39,000 students daily.
The MSNA is a statewide non-profit associa-
tion of over 3,000 members who are commit-
ted to advancing school meal programs
through education and advocacy. n
PAGE 4
JMS science teacher Sarah Garrett
gains EPA innovation award
Sarah Garrett
Sarah Garrett, science
teacher at Jackson Middle
School - a Specialty School
for Math and Science (JMS),
was honored by the U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) for her efforts
in bringing environmental
education into her class-
room through hands-on,
experiential approaches.
Garrett received honorable mention honors
for the Presidential Innovation Award for
Environmental Educators (PIAA) for EPA Region
5. The EPA recognizes teachers for activities
including developing successful preschool, ele-
mentary, middle and high school environmental
and outdoor education courses through various
methods throughout the school year.
Garrett uses a hands-on approach in the classroom
with a focus on citizen science and experiential
education concepts to make learning about the
environment fun and relevant. She implemented a
project in which students write investigable ques-
tions while learning the importance of pollinators
and birds in the local ecosystem, as well as the
water cycle and water quality issues. Students
also have toured both the City of Minneapolis
Drinking Water Treatment plant and the Elk River
Wastewater Treatment plant in a study of the
urban water cycle.
Students have also grouped together to build a
butterfly garden at JMS which is used every year in
class to study plants and insects. Garrett added that
two years ago, JMS students constructed a rain gar-
den that takes parking lot runoff water and treats it
naturally before going into natural waterways. With
natural plants, this area has also become a popular
spot for insects and birds on school grounds. n
Crooked Lake’s Stacy Johnson
selected as VFW Citizenship
Education Teacher of the Year
Stacy Johnson doesn’t have any vivid
memories of Veterans Day as a child, but
you would never know that when you learn
of her passion for civic engagement and
patriotism that shines bright at Crooked
Lake Elementary School.
Johnson, a fifth grade teacher at
Crooked Lake, was recently selected as the
Citizenship Education Teacher of the Year
for District 7 of the Veterans of Foreign
Wars (VFW) and is one of three district
winners in Minnesota.
Theresa Shumway, a member of the
Coon Rapids VFW Post 9625 and Korean
War veteran, implored Crooked Lake princi-
pal Sam Anderson to nominate Johnson for
this award because of her outstanding work
on the Veterans Day programming at her
school.
“She was the perfect fit for this award,”
Anderson said. “Every year she organizes a
great Veterans Day presentation and with
her passion for her students and civic
responsibility and government, this was a
perfect fit for Stacy.”
Johnson has organized Veterans Day
programming at Crooked Lake for 10 years
and what was once a school rally around
the flagpole to start the day has grown into
a grand celebration. Veterans in the com-
munity and family members of students are
invited for breakfast and are also treated to
personal cards from students and a Heroes
Walk.
A fun feature at Crooked Lake is the fact
that the building is circular. On Veterans
Day, students line the hallways for the
Theresa Shumway from Coon Rapids VFW Post 9625 presents
Stacy Johnson with the award. Principal Sam Anderson is shown
on the right.
Heroes Walk and those being honored walk down the
middle of the hallway around the entire building to music,
and a rousing thank you from the students.
“I really just try to find ways to relate classroom activities
to social studies and civic engagement.” Johnson said. “It’s
just a constant conversation on what our job is as a student
of not just my classroom, but our school as a whole. If we go
into the community we represent Crooked Lake and our
community so what my hope is that I am teaching what it
means to be a good citizen.”
The VFW Teacher of the Year award contest recognizes
three exceptional teachers for their outstanding commitment
to teaching Americanism and patriotism to their students.
Each year, a classroom elementary, junior and high school
teacher whose curriculum focuses on citizenship education
topics - for at least half of the school day in a classroom
environment - can be nominated for the Smart/Maher VFW
National Citizenship Education Teacher Award. n
The VFW Teacher of the Year award contest recognizes three
exceptional teachers for their outstanding commitment to
teaching Americanism and patriotism to their students.