THE NORTH TEXAS HONDA DEALERS RECOGNIZE & REWARD OUSTANDING LOCAL TEACHERS DURING TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK MAY 6-10, 2019

Send Out Helpful People in Blue to Surprise Local Teachers with Much Needed Supplies and Classroom Essentials

“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”
–Henry Adams 

WHAT: 

Nearly all public school teachers report digging into their pockets to pay for school supplies, spending nearly $500 every year*, according to a study by the National Center of Education Statistics. 

Teachers go above and beyond to enrich their students’ education and inspire them in all aspects of their lives. They motivate students to set high goals, increase knowledge, and even be a good friend. Teachers are essential role models who shouldn’t have to bear the responsibility of paying for classroom supplies. The North Texas Honda Dealers recognize this and the importance of providing the necessary resources for teachers to help their students succeed, so they’re here to help.

To celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week with Random Acts of Helpfulness, the North Texas Honda Dealers and the Helpful Honda people are honoring the efforts of deserving local school teachers who double as role models for their students, and make education an unforgettable and meaningful experience both inside and outside of the classroom.

With the help of an “inside” school official, the Helpful Honda people will surprise three amazing teachers over Teacher Appreciation Week in North Texas, during their routine day in the classroom. Teachers will be surprised with a Random Act of Helpfulness from the Helpful Guys in Blue at local schools in Denton, Dallas, and North Richland Hills. Based on each teacher’s unique strengths and academic efforts, they will be presented with a wish list of much needed books, music instruments, life skills supplies, and essentials for a classroom makeover, in an effort to help further each teacher’s high-impact work inside, and outside of the classroom.

Honoring Jenna Burns of Richland High School (9-12, Life Skills/Special Education)

Nominator: Principal Carla Rix

 Her story: Mrs. Jenna Burns is the consummate Special Education & Life Skills teacher at Richland High School, according to school Principal Carla Rix. Mrs. Burns has created incredible opportunities for her special education students to be with their general education peers across all aspects of the campus and goes above and beyond to serve each Special Ed student through adulthood.

After determining her students’ interests, Mrs. Burns finds and develops creative ways for her students to experience their passions and thrive within the school community. For example, one of her students was named the JV football equipment manager and worked with the team during practice and games. He experienced football via an all-access ticket and was selected by his teammates to suit-up, take the field and scored during the game. This encouraged another student to try-out for pep squad, and the inspiration continued with a general education student organizing a softball game with special education students’ participation which has grown into an annual fund-raising event.

Additionally, Mrs. Jenna Burns has developed and implemented Life Skills programs including a coffee service, laundry service, and computer lab inspection to meet the needs of the campus with solutions, which simultaneously enhances her students’ life skills. Outside of the school, she has organized field trips and outings to restaurants, sporting events, grocery stores, the mall, and school-sponsored dances to ensure her students garner everything they can from their high school years.

Jenna Burns also serves on the RHS Rebel Viewpoint Committee, is a district curriculum writer, coaches select volleyball, and is actively involved as a cross-curricular coordinator of PLCs.

The surprise:  When returning to class, Mrs. Burns will be greeted by the Helpful Honda guys and a classroom filled with her dream life skills supplies … a brand new washing machine and dishwasher, along with a paper storage unit beaker set, crayons, paint brushes, headphones, cookware, easels, kitchen cart, and sofa!

 View pictures from the surprise announcement (opens in a new window)

 For more information on Helpful Honda, please visit http://www.facebook.com/NTXHondaDealers and Twitter @NTXHondaDealers for fun clues around where we will bring Random Acts of Helpfulness next!

RHS seniors, Lindsey Holland and Brandon Ford, are students in Mrs. Krumm’s TWU Dual Credit English classes. They are turning heads with their award-winning submissions to essay contests sponsored by the English, Speech, and Foreign Languages Department at Texas Woman’s University. Most recently, Lindsey Holland won an Emerging Writers Award, including a cash prize, for her research essay on Artificial Intelligence. Lindsey describes the piece as a look at, “How AI is becoming more involved with our everyday lives and the consequences that will occur.” Lindsey explained we already have self-driving cars, but we are not using them because they cannot determine how to code for certain choices. She elaborated, “If a child runs out into the middle of the street and the wreck will mean either the child or the driver will die, should you kill the child or the driver? Society will change a lot in the next decade because of AI robots like Sophia that are capable of learning and thinking on their own.” Ultimately, she is concerned with the consequences surrounding the use of Artificial Intelligence.  

Brandon Ford has won recognition for two separate pieces, the first being a review of an album, The Clown, by Charles Mingus. Brandon is confident in his abilities to review the album as a three-time, all-state bass clarinetist. His second piece is a rhetorical analysis of an article about a proposal to close Rikers Island in New York. He is excited to mention that shortly after writing his rhetorical analysis the proposal to close Rikers Island was accepted. Both of his pieces were published within a TWU campus e-reader to provide example essays for other students in their programs.  

Both Lindsey and Brandon are strong advocates for dual credit courses. Neither is a huge fan of AP testing, and they advocate for Dual Credit because there is more freedom in the curriculum to write about personal interests. Brandon elaborates, “Everything comes down to choices and I feel I have learned a great deal from both Mr. Evans (Brandon’s 9th grade English teacher) and Mrs. Krumm because they are both masters of their craft.”  After graduating from Richland High School, Lindsey will be attending Tarleton State University with an undecided major at this time. Brandon will be attending the University of Denver in the fall, working toward a degree in Jazz Composition.

Please read their award-winning submissions using the links below:

Lindsey Holland’s Artificial Intelligence (opens in a new window)

Brandon Ford’s The Clown (opens in a new window)

Brandon Ford’s The Case for Closing Rikers Island (opens in a new window)