The Times West Virginian

Local News

July 10, 2009

Pleasant Valley’s Mary Gaston named West Virginia History Teacher of the Year

CHARLESTON — Mary Ann Gaston, a sixth-grade teacher at Pleasant Valley School in Marion County, has been named the 2009 West Virginia History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and Preserve America.

Gaston, who has been teaching social studies, mathematics, science and health in the elementary classroom for 16 years, also has been an adjunct at Fairmont State University for 20 years. “Teaching history to our youth is a rewarding, invigorating, and more importantly, crucial component of their education,” Gaston said.

“Using primary documents and real-life scenarios lay the foundation in which to weave our ancestors’ life stories with our lives today. To step into the future we as a society must gaze into the past by going beyond a traditional textbook riddled with facts to a living history emphasizing the people, documents and events that led us to today and pave the way for our tomorrows.”

Gaston will receive a $1,000 honorarium and will be in the running for the National History Teacher of the Year award to be selected this fall. Pleasant Valley School also will receive a core archive of history books and educational materials from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

“Great history teachers take required coursework and turn it into a personal experience for their students,” said state Superintendent of Schools Steve Paine. “Instead of just telling a story about our past through lectures and textbooks, they encourage students to discover their heritage so that they understand the connection between history and their day-to-day lives.”

 Gaston has built upon her classroom experience and published Instructional Guides for the NetWorth project and created interdisciplinary juried assessment plans that provide personal finance instructional strategies for teachers on the West Virginia Department of Education’s Teach21 Web site. She also has developed a Project Based Learning unit for elementary teachers that focuses on the concept of balance in science. This unit also has been juried and published on Teach21.

Inaugurated in 2004, the History Teacher of the Year Award is designed to promote, celebrate and encourage the teaching of American history in classrooms across the United States. It honors one exceptional teacher of American history from each state and U.S. territory.

“This award provides important recognition for excellent history teachers across the country,” said Lesley Herrmann, executive director of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.  “It has become a coveted prize for educators.”

Text Only
Local News
  • pepperoni rolls.jpg Pepperoni roll prize

    To someone from out of state, the pepperoni roll might seem like a mystery.
    “Is it like a calzone?” they might ask, “or a stromboli?”
    Unique to the state of West Virginia, the pepperoni roll represents the Italian heritage of many of the miners in the early 20th century mixed with hardworking Mountaineer common sense.

    May 26, 2012 1 Photo

  • BOE seeks land for new middle schools

    The Marion County Board of Education is looking at land to build new middle schools in Mannington and Monongah.
    If all goes as planned, county voters will see a bond on the November ballot.

    May 26, 2012

  • Stewart Procession--DS.jpg Former WVU coach takes final journey home

    Bill Stewart has made his way back home.
    The former West Virginia University football coach, who died suddenly earlier this week of a heart attack at 59, was laid to rest Friday in his hometown of New Martinsville.

    May 26, 2012 1 Photo

  • Bickerstaff ready to make mark as Woman’s Club president

    One look at a facility can show Nancy Bickerstaff a lot.
    Attention to detail has always been her strong point, and when she first walked into the Woman’s Club mansion more than four years ago, she immediately knew what the priorities should be.

    May 26, 2012

  • Fiesta Bowl Football_time(28).jpg Funeral today for former WVU football coach Bill Stewart

    Former West Virginia University football coach Bill Stewart is heading home to New Martinsville for the last time.

    May 25, 2012 1 Photo

  • Stewart-Quincy-DS.jpg Tears and memories: VIDEO

    It was mid-Thursday afternoon at the Morgantown Event Center and the crowd stood mostly silently in line that wound out of the Events Hall and into the hallway toward the staircase.
    A young lady was there holding a singular golden rose
    “I wish,” Rebecca Durst said, “it could be gold and blue.”

    May 25, 2012 1 Photo

  • ‘Dangerous fugitive’ is apprehended

    Two more targets of “Operation Blue Haze” were apprehended by U.S. Marshals and local police Thursday.
    Bryan Keith Egress, 28, described by United States Marshals as a “dangerous fugitive,” was arrested around midnight Thursday at 1410 Miller St., Fairmont, the residence of his girlfriend.

    May 25, 2012

  • Three rivers festival--DS.jpg Excitement marks Three Rivers Festival

    It was 5:55 p.m. Thursday on Merchant Street. Kids ran up and down the sidewalks, as their older siblings strolled along the side of the street. Waiting.
    There was a certain energy in the air. An expectation.

    May 25, 2012 1 Photo

  • Spring paving under way

    Some folks in the Friendly City are seeing a fresh coat of asphalt go down on the street in front of their homes.
    City Manager Jay Rogers said Fairmont’s spring paving project will resurface two blocks of Gaston, Virginia and Minor avenues, as well as Moore Place from 12th Street to 14th Street.

    May 25, 2012

  • Fairmont Catholic’s Arts Festival popular event

    Students at Fairmont Catholic were not lined up in their respective rows or seats on Thursday morning.
    Some were dancing in a classroom, attempting to follow the lead of Shawna Gerau-Santee, owner of the Fifth Street Dance Co.

    May 25, 2012

Featured Ads
TWV Video Highlights
NDN Editor's Picks
House Ads