Galloway Teacher is a Finalist for a $10,000 Grant

A teacher is in contention to bring a monetary landfall to the fiscally conservative Galloway Township School District.

Third grade teacher Terry Dougherty, who was recently recognized by the Board of Education for her with children from military families in and around the township, is one of 10 finalists in a nationwide contest, titled “The Great American Teach Off,” hosted by the online community GOOD and the University of Phoenix.

Hundreds of teachers across the country were nominated. Beginning today, Oct. 3, the 10 finalists will produce five videos to be posted on the website, www.good.is/gato. People are invited to visit the website and vote for their favorite submissions. Each week, the two teachers with the lowest number of votes will be eliminated.

The winner of the contest will win a $10,000 classroom grant.

“It’s a huge amount of money,” said Dougherty, who has some ideas of what she would do with the grant, but hasn’t officially decided on anything. “As a teacher, we don’t get a whole lot of money to use in the classroom. We’re so used to conserving, I don’t know what I would do with the money.

“I would make sure I used the money to benefit everyone.”

That is one of the questions Dougherty is asked to answer. Each of the 10 finalists is asked to produce five videos, one to be posted on the website each week for the next five weeks. Each video is designed to answer a question. The video posted today asks each teacher, “How am I innovative?”

The other questions include:

• What am I doing to make a difference?
• Best teaching tips for teachers in America?
• Endorsements from parents and peers
• What would you do with $10,000?

Other finalists include teachers from Philadelphia, Massachusetts, Colorado, Illinois, Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida, Missouri, and Virginia. Dougherty is the only finalist from New Jersey.

GOOD is an integrated media platform for people who want to “live well and do good.” Its stated mission is to provide “content, experience and utilities to serve the community.” Launched in 2006, it produces a website, videos, live events and a print magazine.

“GOOD has always existed as a platform to shine a spotlight on the most creative ideas, people and organizations moving the world forward,” GOOD co-founder and CEO Ben Goldhirsh said. “We decided to create the Great American Teach Off in order to refocus … to all the educators across the country who are making a real impact in students’ lives.”

“A solid foundation in education is what drives innovation, ambition, and our economy,” University of Phoeni President Bill Pepicello said. “We are proud to recognize the hard work of classroom teachers across America for their leadership and commitment to making a better tomorrow.”

Dougherty said she has four endorsements, including three from parents and one from a peer.

She has also received help from faculty throughout the district making the videos, including Galloway Township School District Communications Officer Joanna Westcott.

“I videotaped segments with parents, students and colleagues, and I edited the video (over a three-day period),” Westcott said. “The hardest part was making each video segment only 90 seconds. People had so much to say about how appreciative they were, how much the program helped their child, how much fun they had in her tutoring sessions, how sad their children were when it ended … it was hard to decide what portions to include. So far I’ve put in about five hours of videotaping and editing, but would be more than happy to put in another five to help her create her last three 90-second segments, and I’m honored that she would ask me to help her out.”

“Everyone is so involved,” said Dougherty, who said the Rotary Club nominated her for the award.

Dougherty works with children who are constantly relocated because their parents are in the military. She said she saw a need among children in the community for this type of tutoring, particularly on her own street. She began three years ago. She’s worked with children who have parents in the 177th and at the Air Station in Pomona, among other areas.

The first video was shot at the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May, where her husband was both stationed and later worked as a civilian.

“My husband served in the first Gulf War, and he was deployed a lot,” Dougherty said. “There are a lot of separation issues that aren’t military. It’s really taken on a life of its own. I remind the community that these families are here.”

It was her personal experience that motivated her to begin tutoring children, and the need has continued to grow.

“It’s never lacking,” said Dougherty, who isn’t sure exactly how many families have this need in Galloway Township. “It keeps growing. It started in district, but this year, we’ve gone outside of Galloway. We’ve worked our way into other districts.”

Dougherty said helping children adjust to standards when coming into New Jersey from out of state is difficult, but she’s also had to work with other districts to try to get everything lined up.

“If they’re not on the grade level, we do the best we can to get them on that level,” Dougherty said. “If they’re advanced, we work with them to stay ahead.”

She said she typically tutors a student for about three years before they are relocated. The program has helped students connect, including two students whose fathers were in the Coast Guard but never met each other, and a student who was left to live with their stepfather after their mother was deployed. She said working with parents on how to handle the situation is a big part of what she does.

In her video, she speaks about how she uses Skype technology to keep parents who have been deployed involved in their child’s education, and a military luncheon is held each year. To this point, it has only been for children in third grade, but this year, it will be expanded to include the whole building.

She does everything she can to help children who are experiencing something many children will never have to experience. She also makes sure not to isolate the children who move constantly because their parents are in the military. They aren’t identified as “military children,” but when it’s time for the children to explore their differences in a class setting, she encourages everyone to discuss their differences, whether their parents are divorced, in the military, or there is something else to differentiate them.

“They are resilient kids,” Dougherty said. “Every child has something somewhere. I try to incorporate that, so that they see how everyone is different.”

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