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Teacher of the Year

Published May 27, 2009
at 11:38 pm

Canyons School District

2415 E. 7600 S.

Cottonwood Heights, UT 84121

Jennifer Toomer-Cook
Communications Director
(801) 501-1015 office
(801) 631-3484 cell

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CANYONS SCHOOL DISTRICT NAMES FIRST TEACHER OF THE YEAR

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS (May 27, 2009) Student advocate, special-education teacher and culinary-arts educator with a fully operational school restaurant Brighton High teacher Barbara Scrafford has several titles attached to her name. On Wednesday, Scrafford received yet another: Canyons School District’s inaugural Teacher of the Year.

Scrafford, who has taught at Brighton more than 21 years, was surprised with the honor at an annual awards assembly attended by family, friends, and about 1,000 students gathered in the Brighton Bengals’ gymnasium. She was honored by Canyons Superintendent Dr. David S. Doty and Board of Education members Kevin Cromar, Kim Horiuchi and Mont Millerberg.

“Ms. Scrafford is an innovative teacher dedicated to helping her students learn through a variety of experiences,” Superintendent Doty said. “We couldn’t be more honored to have a teacher of her caliber in our midst, and are grateful for the opportunity to honor her as the Canyons School District’s first-ever Teacher of the Year.”

Canyons School District this spring was invited by the Utah State Office of Education to participate in the State Teacher of the Year program. The state over the summer will receive nomination forms for district-level Teachers of the Year throughout Utah. In the fall, the education office will select a Utah Teacher of the Year, who will compete for national top teacher honors.

Scrafford is a culinary-arts teacher, a special-education teacher, the chairwoman of the school’s Resource Department, and a former softball coach. At Brighton, she runs the “best student restaurant in the state,” a program where students learn to prepare and serve meals to staff once a week, and cater many school and community events, Principal Charisse Hilton said. Scrafford’s students have won state and national awards for their work, and have attended some of the nation’s top culinary schools.

“Barb Scrafford is the kind of teacher every student should have,” Hilton said. “Ms. Scrafford is one who will never take credit for student successes but quietly cheers them on. Her leadership is such that she oversees one of the best departments in our school, advocating for the mainstreaming of students and for their best chance at success. It is a joy to have Ms. Scrafford as a member of the Brighton High staff.”

Scrafford is known for innovation, striking a balance between nurturing students and holding them accountable, and opening her work up to the community. Her students for the first time this year participated in the Empty Bowls Project that involved both ceramics and culinary-arts students and raised nearly $2,000 for homeless teens.

“It is one way she is saying to students, ‘Your own learning isn’t enough; you have to serve others,'” said Mary Bailey, Director of K-16 Student Achievement in High Schools for Canyons School District. “She goes out of her way to involve her colleagues in her classroom activities, and to make them feel part of the whole school picture. To her, there is no stranger at Brighton High School. This teacher is there to say, ‘You are welcome, and you’re going to love it here.'”

“It’s an honor to be the Teacher of the Year for Canyons School District,” Scrafford said. “Sometimes you wonder if what you do really makes a difference. This kind of helps you see that we do make a difference. Teaching is an important career.”

Ms. Scrafford is married to Bryant Scrafford and they have two Brighton High graduates, their son Park and daughter Ryann.

Contacts:
Mary Bailey, Director of K-16 Student Achievement, High Schools: (801) 501-1038
Brighton High School: (801) 256-5200
Jennifer Toomer-Cook, Canyons District Communications Director: (801) 501-1015
Jeffrey P. Haney, Canyons District Associate Director of Communications: (801) 501-1060