Pennsylvania
Teacher of the year finalist
for
2004
|
Sandra Martin has been a learning support teacher
specialized in math and reading needs since 1976. She currently
teaches middle school students in the Conewago Valley School District
in New Oxford, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Martin is a speaker and author.
After graduating from Bloomsburg University with an undergraduate
degree in special education, Mrs. Martin received a master's degree
at Shippensburg University, specializing in the field of learning
disabilities. Mrs. Martin has done staff development programs
across the state of Pennsylvania in the areas of literacy and
math, using her own methodologies that she researched and test-piloted
for over 20 years. She has written about her programs in the books
Breaking the “Sound” Barrier to Fluent Reading,
Level 1, Mathopedia, Level 1 and Mathopedia,
Level 2.
Awards:
1) Sandra Martin has been named as a Finalist for Pennsylvania’s
Teacher of the Year for 2004.
2) Mrs. Martin was recognized in Who’s Who of American Teachers
for 2004 and Who’s Who of American Women for 2004.
3) She was named one of four exemplary educators in Adams County
by the Hanover Area Chamber of Commerce in 2002.
4) Mrs. Martin is the proud recipient of the Shippensburg University
Study Council’s Exemplary Program Award for 2002 for her
phonics program.
5) Sandra Martin authored two math books called Mathopedia,
Levels 1 and 2, and one phonics book called Breaking
the “Sound” Barrier to Fluent Reading, Level 1,
published in 2002-03. Due to Mrs. Martin’s successful students'
math and reading test scores, she wrote the books to help teachers
instruct all students to achieve above basic levels for state
assessment tests. For years and years, textbooks have been written
that do not produce long-term results or motivate students. Mrs.
Martin has researched and test-piloted all of her materials. She
instructs with her own programs since she has found unprecedented
successes.
6) Sandra Martin’s math and phonics programs are currently
being used at the K-12 levels in her own school district, Conewago
Valley, New Oxford, PA.
7) Breaking the “Sound” Barrier to Fluent Reading,
Level 1 and Mathopedia, Levels 1 and 2 have been
recognized by the Hanover Evening Sun, The Gettysburg Times, and
the York Dispatch newspapers.
8) WGAL Channel 8 TV recognized Mrs. Martin’s classroom
phonics program and did a “Learning Matters” segment
that aired in 2002.
Activities in staff
development:
1) Speaker - Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year - state level conference,
Harrisburg, PA in 2003 and 2004 on increasing student performance
on tests through multi-sensory instruction
2) Speaker – National Teacher of the Year Conference in
Lancaster, PA in July of 2004 on increasing students’ test
scores in mathematics
3) Speaker - staff development program - increasing students’
reading levels for 80 secondary alternative education teachers
at the Lincoln Intermediate Unit #12, New Oxford, PA in October
2004
4) In-serviced Eastern York County’s 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade
teachers in 2004 on Mrs. Martin’s mathematics program, Mathopedia
5) Coordinated a Mathopedia test-pilot program in the
5th- 8th grade inclusion classes at New Oxford Middle School in
2003
6) Researched math and reading programs for effective instruction
from 1980 to the present
7) In-serviced Northern York County schools in 2003 on mathematics
and phonics
8) Speaker – staff development session for Intermediate
Unit #4, Grove City, PA in the spring of 2003 for 60 secondary
teachers on the topic of phonics
9) Instructor for phonics and other literacy topics for staff
development sessions at the Lincoln Intermediate Unit #12, New
Oxford, PA in 2002 and 2003
10) Instructor for mathematics, phonics and other literacy topics
for staff development at the Conewago Valley School District in
2002, 2003, and 2004
11) Guest lecturer at graduate classes at Shippensburg University
in 2001-2002 on the topic of literacy
12) Presenter for Bloomsburg University’s Annual Reading
Conference on the topic of phonics in 2002
13) Presenter for the Council for Exceptional Children on the
topic of phonics in 2002
14) Presenter at Shippensburg University’s Exemplary Program
Council on the topic of phonics in 2002
15) Attended Conewago Valley’s Understanding By Design staff
development course in 2002-2003
16) Presenter for new teacher inductions from 1999 to the present
17) Supervised three special education student teachers at the
graduate level in 1997 and 1998
18) Completed an intensive week-long course of study in textbook
publishing by The Educational Publishing Institute sponsored by
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill and Shippensburg University in 1998
19) Guest lecturer for the Lincoln Intermediate Unit #12’s
summer teacher in-service sessions from 1985 to 1989 on literacy,
right-left brain learning, and computerized reading programs
20) Attended LIU #12’s training sessions in 1985 related
to research done by the Kansas Mental Retardation and Developmental
Disability Research Center on specific techniques for students
with learning disabilities
21) Attended numerous in-service sessions and staff development
workshops sponsored by the Lincoln Intermediate Unit #12 from
1976-1996
22) Membership in the National State Teacher of The Year –
PA Chapter Association, Pennsylvania State Education Association,
the National Education Association, the Council for Exceptional
Children (CEC), CEC’s Division of Learning Disabilities,
and the Learning Disabilities Association of America.
