Item saved to your backpack!

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently named 16 teachers as Teaching Ambassador Fellows for the 2011-12 school year. Five of the teachers will become full-time employees at the Department of Education's headquarters in Washington, D.C., while the other 11 will continue to teach in their classrooms and will participate on a part-time basis.

"I am committed to listening to teachers' voices as we work to develop policies that will support reform and strengthen the teaching profession," Duncan said in a statement. "Since I've come to Washington, I've come to rely on the Teaching Ambassador Fellows for their invaluable feedback and their ability to facilitate dialogue with teachers across the country. I look forward to working closely with this year's Teaching Ambassadors, particularly as we work to fix the No Child Left Behind Act."

The following five teachers will work full-time at the Department of Education's headquarters:

• Geneviéve Debose, 5th grade teacher from the Bronx Charter School for the Arts, will work on middle-school reform in the Office of the Secretary
• Claire Jellinek, 11th and 12th grade social studies teacher from South Valley Academy Charter School in Albuquerque, N.M., will work in the Office of Innovation and Improvement
• Gregory Mullenholz, teacher advisor at Twinbrook Elementary in Rockville, Md., will work on teacher quality issues in the Office of the Secretary
• Shakera Walker, kindergarten teacher in the Young Achievers Science and Math School in Boston, Mass., will work for the Department's Early Learning Initiatives
• Maryann Woods-Murphy, high school Spanish teacher at Northern Highlands Regional High school in Bergen County, N.J., will work on labor/management issues in the Office of the Secretary

The following 11 teachers will continue to teach in their classrooms and will participate on a part-time basis:

• Robert Baroz, 6th/7th grade English teacher at Curley Middle School in Boston, Mass.
• Kareen Borders, aerospsace and life science teacher at Key Peninsula Middle School in Gig Harbor, Wash.
• Dexter Cheney II, 3rd grade teacher at Martin A. Reyerson Elementary School in Chicago, Ill.
• Juan Govea, 9th-12th grade biology teacher at Salinas High School in Salinas, Calif.
• Leah Lechleiter-Luke, high school English and Spanish teacher at Mauston High School in Mauston, Wis.
• Angela McClary-Rush, elementary through high school Language Arts specialist in Williamsburg County School District in Andrews, S.C.
• Madonna Ramp, teacher mentor with the New Teacher Project at Travis High School in Austin, Texas
• Gamal Sherif, 9th grade African-American History and Biochemistry teacher at Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, Pa.
• Sharla Steever, 4th grade teacher at Hill City Elementary School in Hill City, S.D.
• Bruce Taterka, 11th and 12th grade teacher of AP and IB Science at West Morris Mendham High School in Mendham, N.J.
• Bruce Wellman, Chemistry/Material Science and Engineering Design teacher at Olathe Northwest High School in Olathe, Kan.

The 16 Teaching Ambassador Fellows were selected from a pool of almost 750 applicants--teachers and instructional specialists submitted essays demonstrating their impact on student achievement, record of leadership, communication skills and insight into educational policy from school and classroom experience.

For related news and other information from Schools.com, see:

• Survey: 68 percent of U.S. adults say discipline in public schools is too lax
• Survey: Careers in academia less lucrative than recent years
• CEP report finds no clear benefit from school vouchers
• Study: Nearly 60% of Texas public school students suspended or expelled