Bush honors teacher with Niles ties

The Ohio native has taught veterans' children in Italy, Turkey and the States.
NILES -- Patricia J. Salerno, an Ohio native selected as the 2006 Department of Defense Education Activity Teacher of the Year, was honored at a recent White House ceremony.
The event recognized Teachers of the Year from all 50 states and territories. President and Mrs. Bush recognized each teacher individually in the Oval Office. DoDEA teachers teach children of America's military families worldwide.
A 35-year teaching veteran, Salerno is a fourth-grade teacher at Vicenza Elementary in Vicenza, Italy. She is the wife of Dennis Salerno, a retired Army colonel and Niles native. They live in the Valpolicella wine district near Verona, Italy. She is the daughter of the late James and Jane Holmes of Columbus Grove, Ohio; and the daughter-in-law of Loretta Salerno of Niles and the late Frank P. Salerno.
Salerno said her own teachers and parents influenced her to become an educator.
"Through their enthusiasm for education, I became aware that teaching and learning were a continual life process, which didn't end when the bell rang," she said.
Teaching experience
She has taught kindergarten through the eighth grade in several DoDEA schools and districts, including Izmir Elementary in Izmir, Turkey, and Naples Elementary in Naples, Italy. Stateside, she has taught in Fort Campbell Schools, Fort Campbell, Ky.; and also at schools in Ohio, Arizona, North Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee.
Salerno earned her bachelor's degree in education at Ohio State University and a master's in education from the University of Arizona.
Salerno was cited for her leadership in the Partial Language Immersion Program at Vicenza Elementary. She involves the pupils' parents and families whenever possible in her pupils' accomplishments.