AALL AWARDS October 14, 2005
Clark Atkinson
|
Cara Bryant
|
Lily Beth Brazones
|
|
Adult Learner Advocate Award in Honor of Francis E. Blake
Lily Beth Brazones has quietly
made a positive impact on lifelong learning, first starting in the mid-1980s in
the Rio Salado College Adult Basic Education Program.
She then served as a classroom instructor, both for ABE/ASE and ELAA,
teaching students of many different ability levels.
At the managerial level, she has worked as a supervisor, where she
guided, mentored, evaluated, and contributed to the success of a large group of
instructors and classroom aides. As
a team member of the ABE Program, she has attended monthly Program Management
meetings since 1994, at which important decision are made regarding how the
program will run. Lily Beth as
served on statewide task forces in which she mad similar statewide
contributions. As a presenter, she
has frequently shared what she knows with others in the field of lifelong
learning. She served many years on
the AZ-TESOL board and on the ABE Program’s National Adult Education Honor
Society Committee several times. Her
teachers consistently rate her a 5 on a 1 to 5 scoring system when they
evaluated her work as a supervisor. Comments
they have made are “She is very supportive and understanding”, She almost
always give great input on class management or lessons”, There is not much
more I could ask from her”. Lily
Beth was selected as the Outstanding Instructor in the
Rio
Salado
College
’s ABE Program. For her positive
impact and added value to the concept of learning as a lifelong process, the
Arizona Association of Lifelong Learning is proud to award the Adult Learner
Advocate Award in honor of Francis E. Blake to Lily Beth Brazones.
Excellence Award in Honor of Gary P. Tang
Cara Bryant has successfully
operated and expanded Gila Literacy, Inc. She
was chosen as one of only seven pilot programs to develop and implement a
distance-learning model for adult learners statewide.
Gila Literacy has received two awards as the Best Overall Program and the
Most GED Recipients. Cara oversees
program operations, creates and maintains an annual budget, allocates funds for
appropriate expenses, performs grant writing as needed and is responsible for
all public relations. She has the
professional instincts, work ethics, and ability to complete projects on her
own. She has a very strong ability
to pull people, businesses, and institutions together to meet identified
academic and or social needs. Through her experience and association with
numerous agencies and business in
Gila
County
, Gila Literacy and Gila Distance Learning is incorporated, trusted, and
respected as an alternative academic delivery program.
Her dedication of lifelong learning convinced the Globe Unified School
Board to provide complimentary classroom space to open a computer lab for Gila
Literacy and Gila Distance Learning. The
Gila Pinal County Workforce Investment Act office was introduced to and adopted
Gila Distance Learning as a service provider.
Cara has been a member of the Gila/Pinal Workforce Investment Act Board
of Directors since its inception and collaborates with One Stop Centers to offer
a variety of educational opportunities. She
has worked for Gila Literacy Program for 15 years and has observed many changes
in Adult Education over the years. Gila
Literacy has grown and expanded its offerings countywide.
Much of this is due to her participation in developing Gila Distance
Learning Network through the Gila County School Superintendent’s Education
Service Agency. Cara has been
instrumental in developing and maintaining the Gila County Literacy Consortium.
She has contributed toward fostering the concept of education as a
process continuing throughout life and hopes to make it more accessible to all
residents of
Gila
County
and the State of
Arizona
. Because of her dedication,
commitment and perseverance, the Arizona Association of Lifelong Learning awards
the Excellence Award in Honor of Gary P. Tang to Cara Bryant.
Lifetime Achievement Award in Honor of Gary A. Eyre
Clark Atkinson
’s contributions to the field of
lifelong learning are almost immeasurable. He
began his teaching career in the Peace Corps in 1965.
As a Fullbright Hayes Teacher Exchange recipient in 1974, he provided
training for ESOL teachers, developed curriculum and provided teacher training
at various institutions in several areas in
Asia
.
Clark
has over 18 years of experience as an adult educator at Pima College Adult
Education and another 15 years at the
University
of
Arizona
’s Center for English as a Second Language, where he also was an academic
advisor. He has been an advisor and
mentor to countless instructors within both institutions.
Probably most notable to him are his experiences as an esteemed and
trusted instructor to literally thousands of students worldwide.
His most important contributions have been the relationships he has
developed and nurtured with his students; their value, their languages, their
culture, their experiences, their hopes, and their dreams – that is what
drives
Clark
. He has contributed to the field of
adult education locally, statewide, nationally and internationally, serving on
committees, presenting at conferences, publishing articles, writing curriculum,
participating on standards development, co-authoring books, training teachers,
and teaching. He has been
instrumental in developing criteria for the National Adult Education Honor
Society as well as having served on the GED graduation committee for over 10
years. He worked on the team of PCAE
educators that were part of the multiyear What
Works Literacy Project (WWLP). This
team collaborated with colleagues from selected programs nationwide conducting
research, compiling reports, and traveling extensively to share their findings.
Together they created a set of recommendations for best practices for
assessing the ABE/GED students and collecting testing data.
He was part of a pioneering group of adult educators and students that
worked for years getting a dedicated building for adult education.
The new El Pueblo Liberty Adult Learning Center opened its doors in
1999,a historic achievement for adult education students and staff.
This building will for years and years to come serve to highlight
Clark
’s belief in how students and staff can work together to accomplish great
things. In 2003, when his career in
adult education could have been winding down, he went through a rigorous
interviewing process to take on the new challenge of Assistant Manager at
Community and Workplace programs. This
program included fur distinct and complex programs, including Community Classes,
Workplace Education, Civics and Citizenship and Volunteers.
In 1972,
Clark
co-authored two text books for intensive English language instruction.
The fact that former students continue to seek him out for advice or to
share the birth of child, new job, or a recent success, provides testimony to
the depth of his commitment to the principles of participatory learning and
teaching. Nominated by his peers, he
was selected as the 1997 Arizona Department of Education’s Division of Adult
Education Teacher of the Year. It is
the Arizona Association for Lifelong Learning’s honor to present the Lifetime
Achievement Award in Honor of Gary A. Eyre to
Clark Atkinson
.
other pictures and Awards
Special Assistance to the Past President: Connie Armstrong
