COTTONWOOD, Idaho – Marlene Forsmann, a paraprofessional at Prairie Elementary School, has been named the spring 2016 recipient of the Lewis-Clark State College Division of Education and Kinesiology's Outstanding Educator Award. Forsmann was recognized by staff members of LCSC’s Teacher Education Program at an awards ceremony at the elementary school on Wednesday afternoon.
“Marlene has been working in our district for 26 years,” read a joint statement from the first grade teachers whose students wrote the nomination letters. “She has dedicated her talents and skills to helping children learn and, specifically, for guiding and teaching them in reading. Marlene is an amazing support to the children and the staff she works with. She has the ability to know exactly what a child needs to support their journey in learning to read. As first grade teachers, we depend on her greatly to work with our students and to support us when we are working with them as well. She helps each of our classes with oral reading groups every day. She pulls individual or small groups of children to reinforce the concepts and skills that the classroom teacher has introduced. We rely heavily on her, knowing that our students will receive the absolute best help they could ever receive.”
Nominations for LCSC’s Outstanding Educator Award are not limited to teachers and paraprofessionals, but may also include administrators, aides, secretaries, custodians, food service employees, playground monitors, etc. Only nominations by P-12 students are accepted. A committee of three practicing teachers and two members of the Teacher Education Program choose the winner from submitted nominations.
For more information about the program please contact Heather Van Mullem, chair of the Education and Kinesiology Division, at [email protected] or 208-792-2781.
Photo: Forsmann (center) receives award alongside Superintendent Rene Forsmann (left) and Van Mullem