Rookie of the Year

 Rickey Jackson is in his third year in Adult Education.  He effectively teaches a complete range of courses from Pre-literacy through college developmental in all subjects: reading, writing, math, science, social studies, vocabulary, and study skills. He brings valuable experience from teaching in a variety of educational settings and as an administrator.  In his first two years Rickey has served on many state, college, and departmental committees and task force groups.  Within the first year Rickey was already making necessary revisions to the social studies curriculum due to textbooks going out of print and aligning course materials with required outcomes and standards.  Just this summer he revised the ABE III reading course to better meet student needs and to incorporate a novel.
Rickey has taken the lead in the College’s literacy and ABE level reading courses, along with all the adult education social studies courses.  He has revised courses as needed and located appropriate course materials.   He teaches the Effective Tutoring course as a stand alone and on the internet to help train tutors for our program.  He served on the ADE Standards task force providing input for revisions to the standards.  Rickey also serves as a mentor for the adjunct faculty at his campus and at Hopi Center , which has as much or more enrollment in our division as some campuses.   In fact, this fall, to strengthen his rapport with the staff and students at Hopi Center , he is teaching a class there once a week.  This year he has also added the mentoring and coordination at Pinon.  Hopi Center and Pinon are respectively 85 and 110 miles from Rickey’s home / campus!  He works with 5-10 adjunct faculty and two Learning Assistants at these locations to help coordinate schedules, data collection, and effective teaching for our students.  Rickey also served on the AECAP Professional Development Pilot Project.  Last year we collected and analyzed data and made recommendations to improve gains in our program and specifically ABE students.  Rickey is currently working to revise and combine faculty and staff division manuals into one and put it into a digital format for ease of access and future updates. 

            Prior to entering Adult Education fall 2004, Rickey taught in a variety of K12 classrooms and served as the administrator of an alternative school.  At NPC, Rickey works with students and staff from a variety of backgrounds.  Students and staff appreciate and respect his teaching style, the encouragement he consistently offers, and his high expectations.  Seeing the need, Rickey went out into the community and made contacts with local agencies such as Headstart , LaFamilia, and NAU’s area EOC representative to find students and help locate additional services for students.  He has also volunteered time at the local high school to offer a study skills class to students in the NAVIT program.  Like all fulltime instructors for The Learning Cornerstone at NPC, Rickey supervises the Student Writing Center at his campus along with a Learning Assistant and College Work Study Students.
            In addition, Rickey serves on the Internet Guidance Committee for the College.  He is active in the Winslow Campus Council, volunteering to organize the NPC float for the Winslow Christmas parade and manning an NPC informational table at local events to spread the word.  Rickey is a trained facilitator for the Instructional Skills Program and has co-facilitated several workshops over the last two years for NPC fulltime and adjunct faculty.  This helps our ABE project build relationships with the College faculty at large.
Rickey is always professional, but approachable.  He listens well and is supportive of staff and students.  He has high expectations, but is willing to provide the assistance to help students reach them.   Rickey is open to professional development opportunities.  He has attended the last two spring/summer AALL conferences in Flagstaff and Winslow.  He has made the three-year commitment to serve on the Professional Development Leadership Academy team for NPC beginning this fall. 
Rickey’s curriculum, mentoring, and professional development work mentioned above all demonstrates professional excellence.  He is an excellent teacher and colleague.    His ability to work well with a variety of people and help students succeed in reaching their goals is a great benefit to the college and program.