Date:   February 27, 2004 
Contact: Irene Cromer
703-791-8720 
 

The Dale City Civic Association recently honored three Prince William County teachers as Teachers of the Year and a Gar-Field Senior High School student as the Dale City Youth of the Year.  Nancy Gignilliat, third grade teacher at Neabsco Elementary School, was selected as Elementary School Teacher of the Year.  The association’s selection for Middle School Teacher of the Year was Susan Lowe, a work and family studies teacher at Godwin Middle School.  C. D. Hylton Senior High School ESOL teacher Ginette Cain was named High School Teacher of the Year.  The Dale City Youth of the Year is Gar-Field Senior High School student Elizabeth Ward. 

Nancy Gignilliat, a third grade teacher at Neabsco Elementary School, has been teaching for twenty-five years.  Whether it is using her knowledge in reading strategies, Math Recovery, implementing the Eight-Step SOL Process, mentoring new teachers, or reading at family literacy nights as “Mrs. Wishy-Washy,” Gignilliat makes a difference in her school community, say her nominators.  When she retires at the end of this school year, she will be missed, but Gignilliat already has plans to return to her beloved Neabsco as a volunteer.

Work and family studies teacher Susan Lowe has worked at Godwin Middle School for almost thirty years.  During that time she has worked for eight different principals and experienced six name changes to her department.  When Lowe started working in the seventies as a “Home Ec” teacher she was teaching basic cooking and sewing, and now as a “High Tech” teacher, is teaching life skills, food science, clothing care, child care, families, fitness and health, heart fitness, practical skills, and finance.  Through the use of computer modules, her students get to have “hands-on” experiences such as changing a baby’s diaper, learning to prepare a meal, doing a load of laundry.

As department chair, Lowe developed the Family and Consumer Sciences Curriculum for the International Baccalaureate Middle Years (IBMY) Programme.  She also helped Stonewall
Middle School implement its IBMY Programme.  

Ginette Cain, an ESOL teacher at C.D. Hylton Senior High School is the Dale City Civic Association’s High School Teacher of the Year.  Cain is described as a master in introducing her students to the English language and cultural norms of American society. “She plays the role of instructor, nurturer and advocate to students that face so many challenges in their quest to acquire a second language and succeed in a demanding academic and social environment,” says one of her nominators. 

Cain’s innovative back-up program for ESOL students is on the cutting edge, say her nominators.  She established ESOL sheltered classes in courses that all students need to graduate.  Under her tutelage, students are mainstreamed in the core classes and then Cain re-teaches the curriculum.  By reinforcing the curriculum, 96 percent of her students passed the history SOL in spring 2003, as compared to 54 percent in the previous year.  This method of teaching has been adopted by Gar-Field and Forest Park high schools.  Cain was recently named a finalist for the 2003 - 2004 Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award. 

Elizabeth Ward, daughter of Roger and Kathy Ward, is an International Baccalaureate candidate at Gar-Field Senior High School.  She has a long resume of civic and community service activities.  Between studying for her IB assignments and exams, Ward participates in student government, is the Drama Club’s assistant director, International Thespian Society president, and is in the orchestra, Peer Diversity Trainers, and National Honor Society.  She is active in her church’s youth group and Vacation Bible School, political campaigns, and Gar-Field’s Music Library.  Recognized as the IB Chemistry Student of the Year last year, Ward was the recipient of the William and Mary Leadership Award, received Academic Letters for the past three years, and was listed in Who’s Who Among High School Students.  She is interested in attending either Virginia Tech or University of West Virginia where she will pursue a major in chemical engineering and a minor in theater.

Other nominees for Teacher of the Year were Peggy Bozzard, Enterprise Elementary School; John Hoffman, C.D. Hylton Senior High School; Barbara Knapp, King Elementary School; Audrey Redd, Beville Middle School; Aileen Scharl, C.D. Hylton Senior High School; and Faye Simon, Gar-Field Senior High School. 

The Youth of the Year nominees included Lesley Barned, Grishma Bharucha, and Charlene Brown, all of Gar-Field Senior High School; and Banafsheh Fathieh, Larisa Gervasi, Stephen Michael Iden, and Brittany Kershaw, all of C.D. Hylton Senior High School.