State honors 5 teachers from Woodside

The team developed new schoolwide academic and behavior programs.
AUSTINTOWN -- Five Woodside Elementary School teachers have been honored with a state award for making a difference in the lives of their pupils, particularly those with disabilities and at-risk learners.
Teachers Gerry Coates, Lorraine Hardman, Barb Kenney, Sandra Metts and Peggy Murray were presented with the Walter-Horn Partnering for Progress: Improving Results for All Students Award by the Ohio Department of Education.
Only one Walter-Horn award is given each year to an educator or team of educators in each of the 16 Special Education Regional Resource Centers across Ohio.
It recognizes those teachers who have made outstanding contributions to education in Ohio for all learners.
What team accomplished
The Woodside team was honored for the significant strides it made in the development and implementation of an integrated schoolwide academic and behavior plan.
As part of their behavior plan, the teachers and pupils have adopted "Be a STAR" as their building's theme. The acronym stands for "Safety, Team player, Always be respectful and Responsible."
Staff members who catch kids behaving properly can award them with "Starbucks," which can be used to purchase various school supplies.
The team has also developed a program for improving literacy, providing teachers with a method of monitoring pupil progress in reading, measuring instructional effectiveness for individuals and classes and making instructional decisions.
The team worked over the summer to implement the programs for the building.