Two Seattle teachers win Golden Apple Award

Two Seattle Public Schools teachers are among seven educators to win a 2007 KCTS Golden Apple Award for making a positive difference in Washington state education.

Roosevelt High School music teacher Scott Brown and Beacon Hill Elementary reading teacher Masako Davison were selected from a pool of 200 nominees. Each teacher will be honored at a ceremony in January and will receive a golden apple statuette, a $250 award and a $1,500 grant to use in their classroom.

Brown, longtime director of bands and vocal jazz at Roosevelt, was lauded for building a broad and inclusive music program. He leads an award-winning jazz band, but has expanded the music course offerings for all students, created a new afterschool "jazz lab" and set up a digital recording and CD production studio on campus.

Davison, a part-time reading teacher for bilingual students, has been a longtime leader in the Latino PTA. She sees herself as a navigator for the parents of bilingual students at Beacon Hill Elementary. She strives to make personal connections between the families and the school, and organizes activities such as the biannual El Dia del Nino Celebrations.

The other award winners are: Beaver Lake Middle School science teacher Kathryn Boudreau-Stroud (Issaquah School District); Henry Foss High School music teacher Richard Byrnes (Tacoma School District); Mountlake Terrace Elementary teacher Mari Knowles (Edmonds School District); fine arts/reading teacher Tracey Lundquist (Clover Park School District); and Enumclaw High School transition coordinator Judy Bruggeman (Enumclaw School District).