Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Veteran LLHS teacher wins Golden Apple

Kenn Rodriguez News-Bulletin Staff Writer; krodriguez@news-bulletin.com

Los Lunas When Gail Ranshaw talks about having been a teacher at Los Lunas High School for 27 years, she does so with pride.

"I have taught in this classroom for 27 years," she said, referring to her vocational education classroom out in LLHS' G-building.

"I built this graphic arts program from my second year teaching," she said. "So I have taught a lot of people. There have been a lot of changes. Some of my first students when I first started teaching here are now 45 years old. And I've made improvements every year, so it's really something. I'm teaching students of students and have been for the last five years. It's really something."

Along with six other New Mexico teachers, Ranshaw was recently honored with the Golden Apple Award for Teaching Excellence, which is awarded by the Golden Apple Foundation of New Mexico.

The award has been given out since 1996 and was established in 1994. The award includes a cash stipend, a $4,000 award to be used for professional development and a computer system donated by Intel Corporation.

Ranshaw said she found out at a recent faculty meeting in the LLHS library. The meeting was ostensibly to give teachers school information and to discuss a middle school review. But Ranshaw said she was tipped off right away.

There were some people from Central Office, and then Principal Claudia Krause-Johnson tipped her off.

"She said 'And I also want people to know that everyone in the library was in the midst of a Golden Apple recipient,'" Ranshaw remembered. "And everybody knew that I was up for it, so everyone started applauding and standing, and I took that as my lead. I stood up to go to the microphone."

"Well, I was totally shocked and surprised," Ranshaw said.

The process she and the other 19 teachers up for the honor went through was very stringent, said Ranshaw.

The process included interviews with parents, with students, with colleagues and administrators as well as a classroom observation.

"They look real hard and long at what we do in our programs," she said. "So when you have the caliber of teaching happening, and there are 19 people they're looking at and only seven are going to be chosen, that's pretty significant."

Ranshaw said she was "totally relieved" when Krause-Johnson finally made the announcement.

"I was just totally relieved because I was under some stiff competition with 19 other teachers in the state. And you know that when you're in that company, it's like being in the Academy Awards. When you're in the audience and you're up against other actors and everyone's done a good job and that's why they're there."

Ranshaw said her parents - mom Carol Hanner and her husband Jerry and dad Lowell Ranshaw and his wife Carolyn - would be coming from her home state of Michigan for the award ceremony and tribute ceremony on Friday, April 11, at Hotel Albuquerque.

Ranshaw said she still is a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing.

"It's an honor to be a finalist, and it's an overwhelming honor to be chosen," she said. "I still can't believe it. I think I started walking on air, and now I'm coming down to earth, a little closer to being grounded. It's just unbelievable."

Ranshaw said she felt it is her "passion for teaching and working for young people" that carried her to the award. That and all the other great teachers she works with and the Los Lunas students she's taught all these years.

"I'm pretty passionate about what I do. I wouldn't be in this classroom for 27 years if I weren't," she said. "I like what I do. I think it's important, important, important work.

"(The award) definitely is good for your ego," she laughed, "and it's really a nice way to celebrate education and what you've done and contributed to. I think the thing that I like the most is that it brings a sense of pride to our community. Something that I've done that has built over time is something that I can share in terms of pride, with the Los Lunas community.

"Because I think that's important. I think education is important to the community, and I think that the community is important to the schools and education. To be able to bring this Golden Apple award to the community and give us something that we can really be proud of it's very special to me, because It doesn't happen to many people. It's a really, really high honor."

Ranshaw said being able to bring the award back to Los Lunas is "special to me that I can do that for this high school.

"There are a lot of great teachers in this school," she said. "And to have a recipient here kind of helps them feel better, and it helps the community feel better, and it helps the students feel better. It's so positive, and I like to be able to share that."

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