Press Release

For Immediate Release
February 2010

Contact: 
Leni Stern                                                       
Community Outreach Specialist             
301-809-3068 or lstern@cityofbowie.org

February 2010 Teacher of the Month   
Sarah Earwicker, Chapel Forge Early Childhood Center

At the age of fifteen, Ms. Sarah Earwicker volunteered at Chapel Forge Early Childhood Center, for three years. After completing her day at high school, she walked over to work with children who were “severely, profoundly handicapped (SPH).” She continued working with the school, as a substitute teacher, during college breaks!

Ms. Earwicker has taught “children with autism, children who are severely, profoundly handicapped, children with speech delays, children with behavioral issues and children with mental retardation,” for the eight years that she has been teaching at the school. She turns her children into “interested, enthusiastic hard workers who want to please their teacher.” She finds ways to “individualize” the education of students, so that they will be the best they can possibly be by the end of the school year; even the students who have been found to be difficult for others to work with.
She is a dedicated, no nonsense teacher, whose “love and concern for her students are evident every day in her classroom.”

Elyse Hurley, Principal at Chapel Forge Early Childhood Center refers to Ms. Earwicker as a “very talented special educator.” She “transformed” the way the staff viewed some of the children by making them “an integral part of the activities of the school.” Using accommodations and modifications, she “enabled students to access the learning environment to the best of their ability.” She has a positive impact on all of the children she has worked with, due to her knack of “finding the right strategies to make them successful in all areas of development.”

Ms. Earwicker was recognized by the Bowie City Council, in March.  She received a certificate, a $100 U S Savings Bond, provided by funds donated by program partner BB&T Bank, and a very special lunch with her principal, Elyse Hurley, generously provided by Main Street Catering.

The Teacher of the Month program recognizes Bowie teachers for their teaching excellence, as well as for the “little things” which mean a lot to students, parents, and peers.  Nomination information is available on the City of Bowie web site, www.cityofbowie.org (“Search” for Teacher of the Month), at eligible schools* or at the Department of Community Services at Bowie City Hall. For additional information, contact Education Committee liaison, Leni Stern, at lstern@cityofbowie.org or 301-809-3068.

* Eligible schools include Bowie and Tall Oaks High Schools; Benjamin Tasker and Samuel Ogle Middle Schools; St. Pius X, Grace Christian, Cornerstone Christian Academy, Holy Trinity (lower campus), Heather Hills, High Bridge, Kenilworth, Northview, Pointer Ridge, Rockledge, Tulip Grove, Whitehall and Yorktown Elementary Schools; Chapel Forge Early Childhood Center and C. Elizabeth Rieg Special Center.