Education notes | Lexington Herald Leader

Awards/recognition

■ Morton Middle School cheerleaders placed second in the Universal Cheer Association Bluegrass Regionals on Nov. 7 at Heritage Hall in Lexington. They only trailed behind the 2009 National Championship team by six points. The team won a bid to the National Championships in Orlando, Fla., in February.

Morton cheerleaders are coached by Carla Trisko, Britney Miller and Anna Thompson. Team members include Morgan Gooden, Addie Brown, Mary Clay Eubank, Megan Parker, Amy Brantley, Sarah Masters, Maely McGaughey, Mason Cox, Kalee Hester, Camryn Hester, Madison Montgomery, Chris Moore, Mackenzie Miller, Charlotte Young, Caroline Snowden, Briana Thompson, Courtney Lark, Ella Arnold, Addison Hodges, Payton Jeter, Taylor Todd, Tanner Ransdell, Holly Wood, Olivia Cross, Maurion Smith, Leah-Mabry Mims, Leslie Ginter, Pamela Hollan, Embry Holcomb, Kailey Helfenberger and Lauren Hall.

■ Woodford County Schools' Explorer Time Company won the 2009 Outstanding After-School Program Award given by the Kentucky Community Education Association at its statewide meeting in Louisville this month.

ETC accommodates primary through eighth-grade students from the time school is dismissed until 6 p.m. at each of the district's four elementary schools. ETC is also in session on days when school is not. The state-licensed program is operated by the school district's Community Education Center, directed by Kathy Hogg.

In winning the KCEA award, ETC was cited for its curriculum, which includes arts and crafts, special interest clubs, games and physical activities, community service and character education. ETC was also recognized for meeting mission and monetary goals. Call (859) 873-2421, Ext. 2222.

■ Morehead State University's Christopher Miller, associate professor in the Department of Foundational and Graduate Studies, will receive the Presidential Service Award from the Association for Educational Communications and Technology.

The national award was presented to Miller at an international convention in Louisville. In winning, he was cited for his work with the organization's leadership committee.

■ Ellen Biddle of Bluegrass Community and Technical College received the Counselor of the Year Award in the Career Counseling category at a recent Kentucky Counseling Association Conference.

Biddle, a certified social worker, has worked at BCTC for five years as a Ready to Work coordinator. The program, a partnership with the Kentucky Community and Technical College System and the state Cabinet for Heath and Family Services, assists Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program students and parents who attend community and technical colleges.

■ Bluegrass Community and Technical College radiology student Rebecca Perraut received the 2009 L.R. Bean Radiology Award during the Student Dental Hygienists Association meeting Nov. 5.

The award is named for Dr. L.R. Bean, who taught dental radiology at Lexington Community College (now BCTC) for more than 17 years. In 1991, he created an endowment for a dental hygiene student who showed empathy with patients, a sense of humor and exceptional abilities in the area of oral radiology.

Perraut graduated from Bourbon County High School in 2001. She married in 2002 and has two children. Perraut will graduate from the Dental Hygiene Program in the spring of 2010 and will continue to reside in Paris.

■ Teams from Ashland and Meadowthorpe Elementary schools took top honors as more than 1,600 students turned out Nov. 14 for the Academic Challenge Invitational, the first of a three-part competitive series that promotes scholastic excellence and good sportsmanship.

Students competed in a daylong, single-elimination tournament. They squared off in groups of three teams to answer 20 questions, with the winner advancing. Results from the final rounds:

Primary (grades 1-3):

1st place, with 16 of 20 possible points — Ashland team A: Iris Brown, Kelly Martinez, Patricia Martinez, Alex Meadors, Julia Meadors and Megan Meadors.

2nd place — Ashland team B: Katrina Baniak, Dallas Care, Isaiah Mitchell, Ashvin Sial and Hannah Shapiro.

3rd place — Southern team B: Josylyn Morgan, Madison Morgan, Elizabeth Piper, Rachel Powers and Landon Pugh.

After both finished with 14 points, Ashland B nipped Southern B 4-3 in a tiebreaker.

Intermediate: (grades 4-5):

1st place, with 18 of 20 points — Meadowthorpe team E: Gus Carlson, Zsombor Gal and Christian Lauritzen.

2nd place, with 16 points — Rosa Parks team C: Madi Halwes, Ronit Kar, Murphy Powell, Kaitlin Rucker, Adam Schoedinger and Mannu Singhal.

3rd place, with 10 points — Dixie team F: John Felty, Elijah Ingram, Mishaela Robison, Halleigh Shackelford and Allison Shell.

The annual series — which is co-sponsored by Fayette County Public Schools — also includes the Principal's Cup on Jan. 30 and the Superintendent's Cup on March 13.

All students are welcome to get involved; check with school principals for details. On the district level, contact Alice Nelson at (859) 381-4307 or alice.nelson@fayette.kyschools.us for information.

■ Col. Diana Shoop, associate director of employee benefits for Fayette County Public Schools, received the 2008 Brig. Gen. Donald Wagner Administrative Excellence Award. This national honor goes to a reserve-component Medical Service Corps officer for contributions to the Air Force Medical Service. Shoop is commander of the Kentucky Air Guard's 123rd Medical Group.

■ Quincy Murdock, a social worker at Martin Luther King Jr. Academy, was named Person of the Year by the International Association for Truancy and Dropout Prevention. Murdock, who is an author, educator and independent film producer, has worked with students in an alternative setting for more than 13 years. His latest honor was presented during an October conference in New Orleans.

■ A team of Fayette County Student Technology Leadership Program students were invited to participate in the fall Bench2Business networking event Nov. 10 at the University of Kentucky. Team members were Thomas Desrosiers of Lafayette High and Aaron Davidson and Henry Yan of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. Their presentation focused on iCommand Center, a power management tool for networked computers from a central server.

■ Eastern Kentucky University's Department of History is one of only eight departments in North America to be featured at the 2010 meeting of the American Historical Association as an exemplar of "best practices" in teaching and learning.

scholarships/grants

■ Shelly Pugel, a first-year teacher at Veterans Park Elementary School, received a Watts Scholar award from the Southeastern Regional Association of Teacher Educators. The David Watts Scholars, who are chosen annually by the state hosting the SRATE conference, are recognized as outstanding future educators. The honor comes with a $150 award.