The following text was taken from an article on the Poudre School District's website. Reference link
2006-07 Teacher of the Year Named
Rotary Honors Teachers at 13th Annual Luncheon
It was all about teachers on September 25, as three PSD teachers were honored by nearly 225 Rotarians and community leaders at the 13th annual Rotary Teacher of the Year awards luncheon held at the Marriott Hotel.
The luncheon was the culmination of the Rotary Clubs' year-long recognition program for PSD teachers, during which 26 teachers of the month were recognized for excellence in teaching.
The three teacher of the year finalists-Steve Wahlfeldt, journalism and language arts teacher at Rocky Mountain High School; Janice Martinez, math teacher at Lesher Junior High; and Jeannie Craft, 1st-grade teacher at Irish Elementary-received plaques and $250 stipends for their schools.
Wahlfeldt was selected as teacher of the year, and recognized with a $1,000 contribution in his name to the Rotary International Foundation. Nominees and the winner were selected because they embody the Rotary International principles of service, integrity, recognition of individual worthiness, advancement of international understanding, and personal responsibility to society.
As keynote speaker, Dr. Larry Penley, President of Colorado State University, spoke about the contributions of teachers and emphasized that "good teachers matter." Dr. Penley drew parallels between the high quality of teaching in PSD and resulting success of local students who go on to attend CSU.
Teachers of the month selected by their schools and recognized at Rotary lunch meetings during 2006-07 were:
Jeannie Craft, Irish Elementary; Sharon Matsuda, Cache La Poudre Junior High; Jill Cottingham, Bacon Elementary; Molly Babcock, Bennett IB Elementary; Pam Downing, Kinard Core Knowledge Junior High; Ray Martine, Preston Junior High; Jean Geller, Lab School for Creative Learning; David Livingston, Blevins Junior High; Stephen Wahlfeldt, Rocky Mountain High; Barb DeSalle, Moore Elementary; Mark Carroll, Webber Junior High; Lee Swanson, Centennial High; Norma Gingerich, Early Childhood Center; Janice Martinez, Lesher IB Junior High; Margie Bucher, Shepardson Elementary; Jasmine Faulkner, Putnam Elementary School of Science; Anthony Garcia, Boltz Junior High; Cori Hixon-Cunningham, Poudre High; Laurie Cullor, Kruse Elementary; Francisco Cordova, Wellington Junior High; Steve Mishkind, Fossil Ridge High; Linda Letnes, Linton Elementary; Julie Israelson, Lincoln IB Junior High; Shawna Reger, Bauder Elementary; Nancy Oliveira, Fort Collins High; Matthew Vannice, Mountain View Junior High.
