Rayburn High’s Josh Prater and Jackson Intermediate’s Shakirah Thomas awarded DENSI scholarships
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story by Dwight Henson
PISD Communications
photo provided by Hillary Woest
The Discovery Education Network (DEN) recently awarded Rayburn High School world history teacher Josh Prater and Jackson Intermediate support facilitation history teacher Shakirah Thomas with full coverage scholarships to the Discovery Education Network Summer Institute (DENSI), which will take place in Utah this July.
Valued at $1,295, each scholarship covers professional learning sessions, networking events, food and accommodations at a professional development conference that connects educators to teaching resources, learning opportunities and professional peer networking from across the globe.
Prater and Thomas both qualified for the scholarship after effectively implementing teaching strategies that they learned during their participation in the PISD Discovery Ambassador Program.
"As members of our PISD Discovery Ambassador Program, Josh and Shakira have been using new tools to transform student learning and achieve amazing results for kids in our district,” said Hillary Woest, Pasadena ISD secondary special education specialist.
Prater’s and Thomas’ efforts have paid off beyond just receiving the scholarships, as their work will be featured in the network of lessons and resources available for fellow teachers at the conference.
"They both have been so consistently innovative, dedicated and inspirational to others in their classrooms, which is why they are so deserving of their Discovery Education Summer Institute scholarships," said Woest.
Rayburn world history teacher Josh Prater, PISD special education instructional specialist Hillary Woest, Discovery Education Community Engagement Manager for the state of Texas Kristi Vincent, Jackson support facilitation history teacher Shakirah Thomas