Two teachers at Salem schools were announced as semi-finalists in the secondary category for the 2013 McGlothlin Awards for Teaching Excellence.

Beth Cook teaches at Salem High School, and Judith Painter teaches at Andrew Lewis Middle School.

They are two of 20 outstanding teachers from the Blue Ridge region who remain in the running for the prestigious award. Among the largest teaching prizes in the U.S., the two McGlothlin Award winners receive $25,000 each, while four runners-up receive $1,000 each.

The semi-finalists next move through two more evaluation levels, with winners announced at the annual McGlothlin Celebration of Teaching at Radford University in April 2013. Blue Ridge PBS staff direct the awards process each year.

Now in its 14th year, the McGlothlin Awards were established by the McGlothlin Foundation of Bristol, Va. They are given annually to exceptional educators from public schools in selected portions of Virginia, Tennessee, West Virginia and Kentucky. Applications for the awards are judged by experienced educators from regional colleges, universities, and school divisions. One teacher from grades K-5 and one from grades 6-12 are awarded $25,000 each. A stipulation is that $10,000 must be used for international travel to broaden the winners’ experience and enrich their classroom teaching.

“We are thrilled by the range of schools and communities these candidates represent,” said James Baum, president and CEO of Blue Ridge PBS. “Outstanding educators deserve to be recognized and appreciated, and we congratulate all the teachers in the semi-final groups.”

“Every year I’m amazed at the skills, creativity and professionalism we find among teachers across the Blue Ridge PBS region,” noted Thomas D. McGlothlin, president of the McGlothlin Foundation.

In the next phase of judging, the semi-finalists submit a lesson plan with a video of themselves teaching the lesson in their classrooms. Judges will evaluate the teachers’ instruction strategies, classroom management, interaction with the community, and use of instructional technology. Six finalists, three each at the elementary school level and secondary school level, will be notified in January 2013 and proceed to on-site observations by judges in the final round.

– Submitted by Katherine Foreman