The West Virginia University College of Education and Human Services will celebrate Gail Adams, 2015 West Virginia Teacher of the Year on Tuesday, April 7 in conjunction with West Virginia University’s inaugural “Go First in Excellence” speaker series.

WVU students, faculty and friends are invited to attend the event at Waterfront Place Hotel, Morgantown Event Center B. A reception will immediately follow the 3:30 p.m. presentation. Parking will be validated for all attendees.

Adams is an English teacher at Wheeling Park High School in Ohio County, an educator of grades 10-12 of subjects such as English Language Arts, Fundamentals of Communication (College at Park) and English Advanced Topics. Adams is a 10-year veteran who received a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education from West Liberty University. She earned her National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification for Adolescence through Young Adulthood in English in 2013.

Adams is a member of the Ohio County Schools Staff Development Council and Professional Development Schools Mentor Team for West Liberty University Student Teachers. As a former assistant coach of Wheeling Park High School’s speech team, she helped secure seven West Virginia Interscholastic Forensic League state championships. She advocates for parent involvement and believes in educating the whole family.

Adams—who has devoted her career to forming lasting relationships with students—is honored and humbled by the award.

“Being selected as West Virginia’s Teacher of the Year was never an achievement I would have imagined for myself to accomplish. I have been presented with challenges, but also with incredible opportunities for me to grow as a person, as an educator and as a voice representing the noble profession of teaching,” said Adams.

“I love the opportunity to form lasting relationships with students, to let them know there is someone who cares about their well-being not only while they are in my class, but even beyond,” Adams continued. “I hope they walk out with the skills to be better problem solvers, to be able to analyze information to make it useful in their lives, and to understand the importance of relationships in life.”

As West Virginia’s 2015 Teacher of the Year, Adams will receive an educational technology package valued at nearly $6,000, use of a Toyota Prius for a year and cash awards from Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Horace Mann Insurance.

Adams was selected by a committee appointed by the state superintendent of schools to evaluate five finalists who were their county Teacher of the Year winners. Teacher of the Year, a project of the Council of Chief State School Officers, is the longest-running awards program honoring classroom teachers in the country, granting its first national award in 1952. West Virginia has participated in the program since 1964.

-WVU-

cz/03/30/15

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304-293-0224; Christie.Zachary@mail.wvu.edu

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