ORANGE — Praised as being positive, energetic and always remaining current in her field, Orange teacher Anna Channing has won a 2019 Excellence in Teaching Award.
Channing is a fourth grade teacher at Dexter Park Innovation School, who was nominated by her colleagues and selected as Orange’s winner.
There are 45 school districts across western Massachusetts that submit nomination forms for the award. Channing’s reads, “Her ability to connect to all students and modify the curriculum to meet their needs is outstanding. She has a true gift for identifying and fostering the positive qualities of every student in her classroom.”
The Pioneer Valley Excellence in Teaching Awards is a program of the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation, which supports educational, entrepreneurial and farming initiatives throughout western Massachusetts. Awards are given out annually to peer-nominated teachers in Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties. However, districts with fewer than 750 students, like Orange, award one teacher every two years.
“I am thrilled that by working together, we can honor well over a hundred talented local educators every spring, and proud that we have done so every year since 2003,” said philanthropist Harold Grinspoon.
Awards are given in partnership with MassMutual and the Irene E. & George A. Davis Foundation.
On May 15, Excellence in Teaching Award winners will be honored at a banquet at the Log Cabin in Holyoke. Channing will receive an engraved plaque and $500. As a winner, Channing will receive tuition incentives and scholarships from Elms College, Bay Path University, Springfield College, Western New England University, Westfield State University and the University of Massachusetts.
Reach David McLellan at dmclellan@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 268.