Courtesy of OKC Friday:

           The University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma City University will honor some very special Fridaylanders in the next 30 days.The University of Oklahoma College of Medicine Alumni Association will host its Evening of Excellence honoring three health professionals, Jan. 26, at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. Not a month later, Oklahoma City University Societies will honor four exceptional women during its annual Awards of Excellence dinner Feb. 25 at the Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club.

OU’s honorees include Martha Ferretti, P.T., M.P.H., Joseph Ferretti, Ph.D. and Terrence L. Stull, M.D. OCU will recognize Tricia Everest, Jane Thompson, Linda Rodgers and Connell Sullivan Branan.

           Martha Ferretti is chairman of OU College of Allied Health’s Department of Rehabilitation Services. She is a David Ross Boyd Professor of Rehabilitation Sciences and holds the Elam-Plowman Chair in Physical Therapy.

          Joseph J. Ferretti is a scientist and former senior vide president and provost at the OU College of Medicine, as well as the former chairman of the school’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology. He is now a George Lynn Cross Research Professor and has returned to his laboratory, where he was known for his work with streptococcal infections.

          Terrence L. Stull came to OU in 1994 from a college position in Philadelphia to take the position of chairman of the Department of Pediatrics. From a humble beginning in a hospital clinic, he has grown the department to Oklahoma’s largest pediatric clinic with a 176-member faculty.

          The Evening of Excellence is a benefit dinner for the College of Medicine Research Fund. The event will begin with a 6:30 p.m. cocktail reception. Dinner will follow.
Tickets are $250 and are available by calling 271-2353.

         Tricia Everest will receive the OCU Societies’ Distinguished Philanthropist Award. Her community organization memberships include trustee of Oklahoma City University, director for YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City, vestry member of All Souls Church, board of visitors for Casady High School, board of visitors for OU International Studies, board of visitors for OU College of Law, director for the Committee of 100, YWCA Capital Campaign, OSBI Citizens Academy graduate, 2011 Beaux Arts Ball chairwoman benefiting the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and honorary member of Oklahoma Outreach Foundation. Everest has also competed in several events for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society benefits.

         Jane Thompson is the recipient Kirkpatrick-Petree Music and Performing Arts Society Award. Her volunteer activities have included co-chairing the Juliette Low Society Luncheon, Impact Oklahoma’s Derby Day, Heart Rhythm Institute Luncheon, UCO’s Music in the Metro fundraiser, Literary Voices, American Cancer Society’s Ranch Baron’s Ball, Allied Arts committee, Downtown OKC Inc.’s Dean A. McGee Awards Banquet, Integris Circle of Friends Gala, the Oklahoma City Arts Festival, the Alzheimer’s Gala and Impact Oklahoma’s Wine, Women and Shoes event.

         Linda Rodgers is the Dulaney-Browne Library Society Award honoree. Her statewide service has included the board for the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence where she has served as president, chairwoman of the Fall Forum, chairwoman of the All-Staters Banquet and as a member of the executive committee. Other organizations she has been involved with are the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics, University of Oklahoma Foundation, University of Oklahoma Alumni Association, Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education, Weitzenhoffer Family College of fine Arts and the Lew Wentz Foundation.

         Connell Sullivan Branan will be honored with the Norick-Hulsey Gallery Society Award. Branan was named the National Young Mother of the Year in 2006 and is president of American Mothers, Inc.She serves on the executive committee for the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence and nominating committee of the Oklahoma School of Science and Math. She has been a member of the Junior League of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Library Endowment Trust, Allied Arts board and was the chairwoman of the 2009 Beaux Arts Ball.

        A reception for honorees will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner, entertainment from OCU’s Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Arts Management and the awards program. The country club is located at 7000 N.W. Grand Blvd. in Nichols Hills.
The 2012 Awards of Excellence co-chairmen are Linda Garrett and Karen Browne. Tickets and corporate sponsorships are available by calling 208-5290 or e-mailing pgregory@okcu.edu.

Tomorrow’s Leaders Class Announced

The Norman Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the 2012 Tomorrow’s Leaders Class. The class of area high school sophomores who have been selected to participate in this year’s class include: Madison Allen, Abby Baker, Blakely Bynum, Hannah Connery, Alex Cullison, Malisha Franklin, Joseph Gao, Ashlyn Gardner, Winston Havenstrite, Ashleigh Isaac, Spencer Jones, Courtney Lashar, Callum Maguire, Maggie Marcum, Reiley Menzie, Kimberlin Miller, Shelby Miller, Zac Musgrove, Anna Lee Painter, Ben Parker, Peyton Powers, Hayley Redwine, Renee Roe, Luck Schuermann, Zach Schuermann, Jordan Smicklas, Michaela Smith, Kal Snodgrass, Zach Terry, Elizabeth Waters.

This popular program, sponsored by the Norman Chamber of Commerce, includes ten sessions covering such topics as team building, leadership styles, city and state government, ethics and diversity, and community service. The purpose of the program is to further develop the leadership qualities and potential in the class members and to familiarize participants with community needs, opportunities, problems and resources. The program concludes in mid-April in a joint graduation ceremony with members of Leadership Norman.

This year’s program will be co-chaired by Scott Hofmann, BancFirst and Autumn McMahon, Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education at the University of Oklahoma. Scott is a graduate of the 2006 Leadership Norman class, and Autumn is a graduate of the 2011 Leadership Norman class.
Chartered in 1990, Tomorrow’s Leaders is entering its twenty-second year. For more information on Tomorrow’s Leaders or any of the Chamber’s three Leadership Programs, contact Erica Millar at 321-7260, or email erica@normanchamber.com.

Ronald Reagan Elementary School, which will open next year on 24th Avenue Southeast, will split a school day in half to immerse students in a new language. Kindergarten and first grade students will study mathematics and science in French for half a day and learn language and social studies in English.

The idea is modeled after the Canadian and continental European system. Students will have a chance to study some subjects in a non-English language instead of typically learning new languages in a separate class.

“We choose to teach math and science in French because they are concrete facts,” said Janet Gorton, Norman Public Schools world language director. “Hence, it will cause less confusion among our young students.”

Oklahoma signed an educational partnership with the Académie d’Amiens in France in 2007. The OU College of Education and the Université de Picardie Jules Verne in Amiens, France have developed an exchange for pre-service teachers.

“The exchange between the [college of education] and the [French university] offers non-native speakers an opportunity not only to work on their French language skills, but to learn how French classrooms work from the inside, observe classroom management and learn specialized vocabulary,” said Jennifer Robinson, adviser for the college’s Global Educations program.

Teachers interested in the program will have to be fluent in French and must hold an Oklahoma teaching certificate in early childhood or elementary education, Robinson said. The requirement applies to native English and French speakers.

Former Honorary Consul of France to Oklahoma Barbara Thompson approached Norman Public Schools about starting an immersion school last year. The public schools may receive more languages thanks to support from French Consul General Pierre Grandjouan, who pledged to add more languages using the immersion model.

The first graduating class will take 50 students in from the Reagan district. Norman Public Schools is currently working on the application process. The immersion courses will begin when Ronald Reagan Elementary School opens next year.

 

Additional Information

An information session will take place from 3 to 4:30pm, on Sept. 6, Tuesday, during the International Education week at JRCoE for those who are interested in this program.

NORMAN — When Ronald Reagan Elementary opens on 24th Avenue Southeast about this time next year, it will have a decidedly French twist. It will be Norman Public Schools’ first language immersion school. One kindergarten class and one first grade class will spend half of the day immersed in the French language.

Math and science will be taught in French. Language and Social Studies will be taught in English. It’s a great fit with kindergarten and first grade since their academic knowledge is at a basic level, just like their language.

Most of the approximately 50 slots will be open to students who live in the Reagan district and a few seats will likely be available to students who desire to transfer into the new school and learn French language and culture. With no boundaries set and no indication of parents’ choice, school officials say they will be developing a selection criteria in coming months.

The immersion concept is patterned after the European and Canadian models where children are introduced to languages other than those spoken at home. Lawmakers in Utah, seeing the economic development benefits, have mandated immersion goals. If the students are successful, Norman could add additional immersion sites with other languages.

“Children up to the age of about 10 to 12, when they learn a second language, it is actually stored in the same part of the brain and it moves over when they become adults,” said Janet Gorton, NPS world language coordinator. “Younger children are the easiest to teach. They learn it much like they learn their native language.”

The students will stay together through elementary school, most likely with different teachers. If a student leaves Reagan, another one could transfer in if they were language proficient.

Teachers have yet to be identified but Gorton says she expects to have many candidates. The district is working with the OU College of Education which has a partnership with a French teachers college. Teachers must be proficient in language and also certified in early child development. The program’s goal, beyond language proficiency, is that students meet all of the district’s academic goals.

Sherry Cox, OU assistant dean in the College of Education, said two potential teaching candidates have been identified. One is a native French speaker and the other was a French major who switched to the College of Education. She said the program is unique in that teachers must be certified as well as proficient in language and culture.

“We’re trying to homegrow our teachers. You’re teaching the content to the students, not just the language,” she said.

The partial day immersion came out of a global awareness thinking process.

“It’s a great idea for Norman but it was in the dream category,” Cox said. “Dr. (Superintendent Joe) Siano saw the beauty of it. In the globalized society that we have now, there is a need for these type of programs,” Cox said.

Gorton said Tulsa schools have an immersion project in French and Jenks schools have a Chinese program.

“We found that, from talking to everyone, one of the challenges is making sure you have the proper staff,” Gorton said.

By going the way of partial immersion, teachers can use English to reinforce concepts learned in French. Students will also learn the French culture.

“You can’t learn language without learning culture,” she said. “Students love cultures of the world.”

Norman currently teaches courses in Spanish, French, Latin and Chinese. She senses excitement building for the program at Reagan.

“I think what’s really great is to have a district, at a time when finances can be challenging, to go out there and do something that’s really progressive.”

Andy Rieger editor@normantranscript.com

366-3543

NORMAN — Former Monroe Elementary School principal Gracie Branch is the Oklahoma Association of Elementary School Principals’ new executive director.

Branch will be responsible for professional development for Oklahoma’s elementary administrators. She also will provide support to elementary school administrators through site visits, regional and national conferences and with state and national legislative advocacy.

The elementary principals’ association is a branch of the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration. Steven Crawford, the council’s executive director, announced Branch’s appointment on Thursday.

“Dr. Gracie Branch possesses the ethics and professionalism requisite of any accomplished school administrator,” he said. “Her style of servant leadership will be an excellent example for all of Oklahoma’s elementary school principals.”

Branch was Monroe’s principal for the past six years. She also had taught in Norman for 20 years and Little Axe for two years, was an assistant principal in the Putnam City School District and coordinator for National Board Certification in Oklahoma.

“I am excited to be working closely with school principals from across the state to achieve high professional standards and best practices for Oklahoma schools,” Branch stated in the release. “I feel my 32 years in education serve as a solid foundation to carry out the responsibilities of a CCOSA administrator.”

“Mobilization Aims Toward 100,000 New, Excellent Math and Science Teachers for Public Schools in Next 10 Years.” Carnegie Corporation of New York Press Release 6/29/11. Primary Subject: Education
Secondary Subject(s): Elementary and Secondary Education, Science/Technology
Location(s): Chicago, Illinois, National

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EDMOND — It’s not every day I have the chance to meet face to face with educators and students nearly 5,000 miles away, but that’s exactly what I did last week.

I held a video conference from Oklahoma City with officials with the Académie d’Amiens to renew Oklahoma’s cultural exchange partnership with the regional education agency in northern France.

Académies are the French equivalents of state departments of education in the United States. The Académie d’Amiens includes three smaller divisions in the region of Picardy.

Our new memorandum of understanding marks the fourth year for the agreement, and I was pleased to continue this important partnership.

In the new knowledge economy, our students must be prepared to engage with the rest of the world. As students prepare to compete in the global marketplace, it’s vital that they engage with and understand different perspectives throughout the world. Educators can talk to students about it, but it has more impact when students experience it directly.

Our partnership with Amiens is an essential part of our efforts to rethink how we deliver education. The partnership builds and expands ties between Oklahoma and French educators and students by including student exchanges, group projects between schools, video conferences and online wiki-based collaboration.

Our renewal of the partnership with Amiens was also a great reminder of the dedicated educators we have working in our state and at the Oklahoma Department of Education. Key to organizing the agreement renewal was Desa Dawson, director of world languages for the state department. Dawson has also been honored in France as a Chevalier (a Knight) of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques (Order of Academic Palms) an Order of Chivalry for academics and cultural and educational figures. And earlier this year, Dawson was honored by OU’s Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education in the 2011 Celebration of Education awards.

More information about pairing with a school in Amiens is now available on the State Department of Education’s Website (http://www.sde.state.ok.us) under World Languages .  Those interested in learning more can contact Dawson at Desa_Dawson@sde.state.ok.us

or by phone at 521-3035.

JANET BARRESI is state superintendent of public instruction for Oklahoma. She may be reached via her website at www.sde.state.ok.us.