June 6, 2008

Top honors

Lynn Walton is Teacher of the Month

Westmont High School’s Lynn Walton received the KBAY Teacher of the Month for May for the use of the Silicon Valley Education Foundation’s [SVEF] Teacher Innovation Grant of $500 for her classes.

Westmont High School’s Lynn Walton was awarded KBAY’s Teacher of the Month award.

“A quality education begins with creative, dedicated teachers,” said SVEF President and CEO Muhammed Chaudhry. “The awardees exemplify the innovative and creative spirit Silicon Valley schools need to succeed. It’s important that we honor their commitment and reward their efforts.”

Walton was recognized as Teacher of the Month for using her grant to ensure all of her students had access to graphing calculators to enhance her trigonometry, pre-calculus and geometry instruction. Prior to receiving her grant, some students who could not afford these expensive calculators were forced to share—limiting Walton’s ability to deliver proper mathematic instruction.

Because more students had access to graphing calculators, Walton was able to expand instruction and activities in her advanced math courses, giving her students a better overall learning experience.

“Due to lack of funds in education, teachers are always looking for ways to better equip their classrooms,” said Walton, who has taught at Westmont for eight years. “I think it is great that we have a local organization, SVEF, that is dedicated to providing this type of assistance and that recognizes the efforts of teachers in general.  There are many teachers just as deserving but I am honored to have been chosen both for the SVEF grant and the KBAY Teacher of the Month awards.”

City of San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and Silicon Valley Education Foundation Board Member Ray Bingham presented Lynn Walton with the Teacher of the Month award for her innovative use of an SVEF grant for her classroom.

Before joining Westmont’s teaching staff, Walton taught for 26 years in both Maryland and in the San Jose Unified School District. She is a graduate of Marietta College in Ohio and also has a degree from Alliant University. When she’s not in the classroom, Walton enjoys sporting events and drama productions and is even appearing in the school’s production of “High School Musical—Teacher Edition.”

SVEF seeks to inspire tomorrow's innovators. With a clear focus on achieving results, and emphasizing creativity and innovation in education, SVEF brings a Silicon Valley business approach to improving education. They are the only organization dedicated solely to improving pre-kindergarten to 12th grade public education in Silicon Valley, with a goal of bringing resources and expertise to benefit the 34 separate school districts of Santa Clara County. For more information on SVEF visit www.svefoundation.org.