Established in 1987 as a memorial to former Department of English professor Dorothy Wright, the Dorothy Wright Outstanding Teaching Awards honor local high school English teachers who make a difference in the lives of students as they transition from their high school years to their college careers. Professor Wright taught at SJSU for 30 years before retiring in 1987, and was committed to teacher education. Her legacy lives on as the Awards bring together students, high school teachers, and members of the university community alike, encouraging communication and alignment between high school and university educators.
“So often at the university level, English instructors wonder about the preparation of their students, specifically asking what happened during their high school education,” Dr. Mary Warner, one of the organizers of the Awards ceremony, elaborated. “The Dorothy Wright Awards is a venue for high school teachers to communicate the realities of high school English classes.”
The Awards are unique in that they are given to teachers who have been nominated by students in freshman composition classes at SJSU, who are then honored in a ceremony on SJSU campus. The ceremony brings together students and the teachers that inspired them, letting them reconnect even across long distances. Teachers from Stockton, Oakland, Salinas, South San Francisco, and Watsonville have attended the Awards ceremony, attesting to the significance of the award as well as the teachers’ dedication to their profession. The students attending the Awards ceremony get a chance to see first hand what the honor means to their teachers, and the teachers in turn get to learn what their students valued enough to bring with them to their college careers.
The power that the ceremony has to bring together the educational community has event coordinators encouraging more students to get involved through the nomination process in order to keep this important tradition alive. It provides a unique opportunity for teachers and students alike, aligning with Professor Wright’s dedication to teacher education and connection. Geoff Wright, Assistant Principal at Cupertino High School and one of Dorothy’s three children, aptly expresses the significance of the Dorothy Wright Awards: “Thank you again for keeping this wonderful tradition alive. Nothing would have pleased our mother more than having outstanding English teachers honored by their own students. The work English teachers do is important: we hold the fire of words and emotions in our hearts and it is imperative we pass that fire on to future generations.”
For a list of Awards recipients and additional information, please visit: http://www.sjsu.edu/english/community/highschool.html
By Kaitlynn Magnuson
