Indiana History Teacher of the Year

Debra Shields, a 4th grade teacher at Poston Road Elementary school in Martinsville, is the winner of the 2009 Governor's Award for Excellence in the Teaching of History, presented by the Indiana Council for History Education in partnership with the Indiana Historical Society. The award carries with it a $1,000 honorarium.

It was also announced that Carole Holzback of Rush County was named the 2009 Indiana History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and Preserve America.

Tom Haywood, who teaches social studies at Indian Creek Middle School in Trafalgar, was named 2008 Indiana History Teacher of the Year, and he was also the recipient of the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Teaching of History.

In addition to his active involvement in school activities and committee work, Mr. Haywood serves as coordinator of the community's annual Living History Museum Time Line Event, the annual Civil War Days student living history event, and the Archaeology Month event at his school. A re-enactor and historian, he portrays various American characters through the use of living history inside and outside the classroom. Mr. Haywood also developed an elective class in American Music, with a curriculum focused upon the soundtrack of the American twentieth century as an avenue for learning about the culture, people, and events of the time period.

Read Tom Haywood's personal philosophy of teaching American history and 8th grade social studies.

Connie Lynn Diaz, a fourth-grade teacher at Sugar Grove Elementary School in Greenwood, was the 2007 Indiana History Teacher of the Year and Governor's Award winner. A teacher since 1978, Mrs. Diaz piloted the Success in Reading and Writing Program and served as a curriculum writer for history, language arts, and computer programs. Her conference and workshop presentations include topics such as 6+1 traits, autism, vertical articulation, curriculum mapping, and data collection. She was a member of the Teacher Leadership Academic class of 2003-2005.

Ruth Baize, a third-grade teacher at West Terrace Elementary School in Evansville, was the 2006 Indiana History Teacher of the Year and Governor's Award winner.

In 2005 the Governor's Award winner was Larry McBride of Maxwell Middle School. Additional state winners in this competition were Bruce Hitchcock of Noblesville High School and Robert Spear of Helfrich Park Middle School (Evansville).

Jon Carl, an F.J. Reitz High School social studies teacher in Evansville, was named 2005 Indiana History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and Preserve America.

In 2004 the Distinguished Award winner was John M. Frank of Center Grove High School. For the Governor's Award program, he submitted a lesson plan entitled, "A Visit to the DMZ," a virtual tour of the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. In addition to his service as a teacher, Mr. Frank has been active in creating a history of Center Grove School from 1882 to the present.

David L. Bardos of Carmel High School was selected as a 2004 State Winner in the Governor's Award program. A teacher of American History, World History, and International Relations, he submitted a technology-based lesson that uses music of the 1960s and 1970s to enhance student understanding of the Vietnam era and the power music has had on social change in recent American history.

The 2003 recipient of the Governor's Award was Trudy A. Nelson of West Lafayette, Indiana. Ms. Nelson is a fifth-grade teacher at Wea Ridge Elementary School in Lafayette. Among the innovations that Ms. Nelson began at her school is the History Fair, an eight-week unit in which students research a topic, read historical fiction and nonfiction, create displays, and make presentations to their classmates and adults.

The Governor's Award winner for 2002 was Charles Bowman. Mr. Bowman teaches at Tipton High School in Tipton, Indiana. He has won several previous teaching awards, including the 1990 Tipton Rotary Teacher of the Year, 1991-1992 GENI Outstanding Geography Teacher of the Year, and 1998 Grant Recipient from the Asian American Network of Indiana for a teaching unit on Japanese American internment during World War II.

The first year's recipient, JoAnn Fox, was a fourth-grade teacher in the Hamilton Southeastern Schools. She accepted her award at the Annual Meeting of the Indiana Association of Historians (IAH) in New Harmony, Indiana in March 2000. The second, William Munn, who teaches at Marion High School, received his award at the Annual Meeting of the IAH at West Lafayette in March 2001.