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Alternative Certification Program Interns Sweep State Awards

HISD Alternative Certification Program graduates Kory Fontenot, Thayer Hutcheson, and Greg Jones (L-R) were named the Interns of the Year by the Texas Alternative Certification Association for 2009. Their achievement marked the second time in four years that HISD ACP graduates have swept the Intern of the Year field at the state level.

Three fledgling educators who earned their teaching stripes through HISD’s highly respected Alternative Certification Program were recognized for their proficiency and professionalism as teachers on October 19, when they were named the Interns of the Year by the Texas Alternative Certification Association (TACA).

Greg Jones, a second-grade teacher at Jonathan Wainwright Elementary School; Kory Fontenot, who taught science at Walter Fondren Middle School; and Thayer Hutcheson, a life sciences teacher at Westside High School, were named the elementary-, middle-, and high-school Interns of the Year (respectively) during the Consortium of State Organizations for Texas Teacher Education’s annual conference in San Antonio. Each winner was presented with a commemorative plaque and a monetary award from TACA President Ron Kettler.

Wainwright Elementary School Principal John Barrera described Jones as a teacher who “gives each day his very best to make sure students are getting the highest quality of education possible,” while Fondren Middle School Principal Brenda Rangel called Fontenot “an extraordinary teacher” who instilled in his students an appetite for learning and provided them with challenges to think on their own. Paul Castro at Westside High School, meanwhile, described Hutcheson as a very effective instructional leader, noting that “if all teachers were as dedicated to their work (as she is), many of the challenges facing schools would be resolved.”

The three winners join a long list of other HISD interns recognized at the state level for their accomplishments after completing their teacher training through the Alternative Certification Program, and 2009 marks the second time in four years that HISD has dominated the Intern of the Year field at the state level. In 2005, HISD ACP interns Gemma Guilatco Lacanlale, Jason Craig, and Kristi Jones won elementary-, middle-, and high-school honors at TACA, too, respectively.

“We are very excited about the recognition our interns are receiving,” said ACP Manager Sharon Lekawski. “They are the best of the best. Their accomplishment not only validates the high quality of the interns who come from HISD, but the overall quality of the Alternative Certification Program.”