Lifetime Achievement Award in Honor of Gary A. Eyre
During her career Judy successfully assisted countless students in their pursuit
of a GED diploma. She was a
non-stop advocate for her students, particularly those with learning challenges.
And she was also very generous with her fellow teachers, never hesitating
to share her knowledge with them.
As a professional colleague, Judy is viewed as an outstanding, charismatic
leader in the adult education field. She
has demonstrated her leadership both in and out of the classroom.
Judy has most effectively provided leadership in the classroom by guiding
her adult learners toward their established academic goals. The students have complete faith in her recommendations as
she urges them on, helps build their confidence levels, and rejoices with them
in what may be their very first academic success.
In fact during Judy’s twelve years of employment with Rio Salado
College, she helped at least a thousand students receive their GED diplomas.
Outside the classroom, Judy stimulates teamwork by modeling enthusiasm, energy,
and determination to accomplish program goals.
She leads by example and by giving of herself for the benefit of others.
Rio Salado College’s ABE Program has a very large GED Graduation every
year and due to its size it requires many volunteers.
Year after year we could count on Judy being there to help out.
Truth be told, she was a bit like a mother hen, wanting to make sure that
her many graduates in attendance were properly taken care of.
But this was just an indication of the pride she had for her students and
their accomplishments. She often asked to sit at the graduates’ check-in table, so
she could give each of them a personal welcome.
When that task was all done you would find her wandering downstairs to
the robing room where she would give a congratulatory hug to as many of them as
she could find while making sure that their cap and gown looked just right on
them.
Another yearly event for Rio Salado College’s ABE Program is our National
Adult Education Honor Society Induction. It
is a much smaller event but one filled with just as much excitement for teachers
like Judy. We knew that every year
Judy would submit two or three of her students as nominees.
Some might think we would get tired of seeing her send us her students,
but actually we wished we had more Judys. But
Judy wasn’t satisfied just giving us student nominations.
More than once she served on the induction planning committee, and even
helped by delivering the teachers’ keynote speech.
Twice a year Rio Salado College’s ABE Program holds a teacher in-service with
a normal crowd of 120 or more teachers gathering on a Saturday morning to engage
in professional learning. With a
group that large we always need to provide a good many breakout sessions.
Once again Judy would step forward and offer to plan and present a
session. Who will ever forget when
the first Harry Potter book came out Judy’s in-service session titled,
“Hogwart’s Magical School of Writing”, complete with props from the
storyline. I think it is fair to
say that Judy was a bit of a magical person herself.
Judy came to Rio Salado College in 1994 with a Masters Degree in Adult Learning.
For the next twelve years, she put that formal education to use in the
ABE/ASE classroom by helping thousands of students achieve their goals.
Her humble attitude and extensive adult education background included
many fresh ideas about adult curriculum and instruction. As a new employee, she
quietly motivated other teachers at the learning center to grow in the field of
adult education. For several years
she asked for computers for her classroom, even if only a few.
When she finally got five computers she wasted no time introducing
students to this other learning strategy. This
evolved to the point whereby many students in her class were spending fifty per
cent of their self-directed study time on computers.
That’s an example of how Judy explored student learning preferences.
Judy was a tireless advocate for her students, especially those many students in
her classroom that had special needs. She became very knowledgeable about
student accommodations. Very early
on Judy adopted a screening tool that she used with each and every student that
came to her classroom. And you can
be sure that the Accommodations Tool Kit that Judy had in her classroom gathered
no dust. Her help for these
students did not stop in the classroom. Judy
personally contacted GED examiners on their behalf to help them fill out GED
Testing accommodations forms.
It is easy to
see how professional Judy was, but if you want a true indication of an
instructor’s professional excellence ask the students.
Here are a few comments some of Judy’s students shared with us.
“Judy is one of the best teachers I have ever had.” “I can
understand the work I complete in class every day.” “Judy is always there
for you.” “I’ve never had a
teacher like this before. I think
I’ll be getting my GED soon.” And
finally, a very informative comment was, “Judy is an excellent instructor and
should receive a substantial raise for what she puts up with.”
A typical student evaluation of Judy looked like this.
Out of a group of seventeen students all seventeen rated Judy as being
“excellent”, “well organized” “can comfortably speak to her” and
“we are learning the things we need to learn.”
Enough said!
Not really, for here is a comment that Judy included on a self-evaluation form. That year she had helped thirty-five of her students get
their GED diplomas. With a record
like that, many teachers would rest on their laurels, but not Judy.
On her self-evaluation form she wrote that she wanted to improve,
“student retention and educational gains.”
Once a professional, always a professional!
Judy has contributed significantly to the field of lifelong learning. Judy realizes how terrific it is when one of her students
obtains a GED diploma, but she knows that this achievement is not the end but
the beginning of something more valuable for the student, higher education.
Rio Salado College has two great programs that help ABE Program students
move to the next level of education in community college classes.
Both the Transition Program and the new Adult ACE Program provide
advising, financial aide, and the necessary handholding to get GED students
beyond the obstacles to a college education that they see in their path.
Judy fully embraced the value of both of these programs and never missed
an opportunity to arrange classroom visits by both programs’ advisors.
She constantly nudged her students mentally, helping them come to the
realization that they could go to college and succeed there just as they had
succeeded in Judy’s GED classroom. Judy
became such a strong recruiter of students for the Transition Program that she
was the first instructor to be given the “Friends of the Transition Program”
Award. And a year ago when the Adult ACE Program began, who made
sure that some of her students were enrolled in it, who else but Judy!
Through her initiatives, Judy has generated action for increased teacher
training in areas like L.D. screening tools and student accommodations.
She has used her influence to stimulate program teamwork and group
efforts to improve curriculum and professional learning and she has been a
staunch supporter of student recognition opportunities.
Finally, Judy has the highest level of commitment.
In 2004 she promised she would personally develop a scholarship fund for
GED testers who lacked money for the test and, true to her word; she dutifully
developed this fund in 2006. This
generous fund will support many new students during the next several years as
they transition into higher education and jobs.
Judy’s contributions will resonate with generations to come.