Thursday, March 09, 2006

Teachers win the gold

By Patrick Butler, Staff Writer
Pioneer Press

Three North Side elementary school teachers were among this year's 10 Golden Apple winners.
The secret of their success? All three -- Zimora Perez of Jahn, 3149 N. Wolcott; Kristen Fastabend of Burley, 1630 W. Barry; and Sandy Lucas of Murphy, 3539 W. Grace -- make learning fun for their students -- and themselves.

Perez was cited not only for her classroom skills, but her off-hours efforts on behalf of her students and their families, such as setting up a special program at the Lincoln-Belmont YMCA so children would have a place to go in the summer. Perez also created a group to raise funds to help low-income parents enroll their youngsters in Jahn's tuition-based preschool program.
Lucas, who teaches fine arts for pre-kindergarten through sixth-grade at Murphy, also teaches the "Wiggleworm" music and sing-along classes to toddlers at the Old Town School of Folk Music.

Described by her principal, Barbara Kent, as an "amazing teacher" with a "dynamic personality," Fastabend was honored for a variety of roles including Local School Council member, language curriculum designer, and a teacher of teachers in the Math Trailblazers program at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Jahn and Burley schools are in Lake View; Murphy is in the Avondale neighborhood.
This year's winners were chosen from 850 nominees from throughout Cook, Lake and DuPage counties, and will receive their awards at a May 13 ceremony to be aired later as a one-hour special on WTTW/Channel 11.

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