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news
Dedication award
for Gruwell, others
By Maya Yamane
Summer Forty-Niner
The California
Commission on Teacher Credentialing recently awarded Cal State
Long Beach professor Erin Gruwell and four other teachers
for their dedication to students.
Gruwell was one
of the recipients of the Teacher of the Year Award for her
contributions and commitment to kids, said Marilyn Errett,
consultant at the commission.
While an English
teacher at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, Gruwell
inspired a group of inner-city youth to write essays that
were published in a book titled "The Freedom Writers
Diary," Errett said.
The group chose
to call themselves the Freedom Writers in honor of the Freedom
Writers who worked to desegregate the interstate bus and train
system in the South during the 1960s.
The group promoted
the book on a national tour and in Europe last summer. They
also appeared on television shows including "The Oprah
Winfrey Show," "Prime Time Live," and "The
Rosie O'Donnell Show," according to information provided
by the university.
"At the event
there were many outstanding men and women who have made significant
contributions to the field of education, so I was truly honored
to be in the company of such great teachers and administrators,"
Gruwell said.
Gruwell has also
received other awards including the Harvard/Radcliff Association
Educator of the Year Award and Teacher of the Year awards
from the California Credential Counselors and Analysts, the
California Junior Chamber of Commerce, the Long Beach Unified
School District and the district's PTA, according to the university.
"State Secretary
of Education Kerry Mazzoni and Senator Jack Scott presented
the awards at a commission meeting in Sacramento," Errett
said.
"The other
award recipients were M. Valerie Beidelman of Burbank High
School in Burbank, Philip M. Chase of Marshall High School
in Los Angeles, Judi Doom of Monte Vista Elementary School
in La Crescenta and Cindy Douglas of Santana High School in
the Grossmont High School District," Errett said.
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