1996 Outstanding Educators

Wanda Barrs, Bleckley County Board of Education, Bleckley County, Georgia. Ms. Barrs, a trained PLT facilitator, established an Environmental Education Center in the county middle school and created four outdoor study stations within the Center. Her work on behalf of PLT led to a new county-wide Integrated Science Program and an organization named Students Involved in Environmental Education.

Rodney Ivey, Garden City Elementary School, Jacksonville, Florida. A fourth grade teacher and PLT facilitator, Mr. Ivey developed an 11-acre natural study area called "Project Life". He has effectively used PLT in his class and now over one-half of the faculty are trained in PLT and integrate "Project Life" and PLT into all classroom studies.

Dr. Ralph Martin, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio. A professor and director of the College of Education's Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Dr. Martin has consistently demonstrated how PLT helps educators with teaching skills which, in turn, has led to a number of his students becoming dynamic facilitators for PLT workshops and classroom teachers.

Twyla Sherman, Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas. A trained PLT facilitator, Ms. Sherman has trained over 900 teachers to use PLT in the classroom. By integrating a full PLT Educator Workshop into her class each year, Ms. Sherman has helped teachers use PLT in different subject matters which meet the new Kansas Curricular Standard for Science.

Arlaine Tyler, Lynwood School, Barstow, California. Working in the Mojave Desert, Mrs. Tyler, a fifth grade teacher, recognizes that many of the children living in the western U.S. deserts rarely have an opportunity to view other regions like forested areas. She uses PLT to achieve this "life" experience. A finalist in the E.P.A.'s Presidential Award program, Ms. Tyler established a Life-Lab complete with organic gardens, compost bins, a recycling curriculum, and a green house run on solar energy.