June 11, 2001

Contact: Robert Lowery (509-963-1487, fax 509-963-2301, email: loweryr@cwu.edu)

ELLENSBURG, Wash. - Ten outstanding Central Washington University teacher education graduates will soon enter "the most important profession in the world - touching the lives of children."

That was how Dr. Rebecca Bowers, dean of CWU's College of Education and Professional Studies (CEPS), opened the student recognition reception (Friday, June 8) honoring the outstanding teacher education program students.

"You will be affecting and positively impacting the learning lives of children," Bowers added. "You will make it possible for them to have quality choices throughout their lives."

The recognition program is sponsored by the university's Teacher Professional Education Advisory Board, which is comprised of representatives from a variety of organizations, including the Washington Education Association, Washington Federation of Independent Schools and Washington Association of School Administrators.

The featured speaker was Patrick Patrick (CORRECT), chair of the Academic Achievement and Accountability Commission. The so-called A+ Commission was created by the 1999 Legislature to provide oversight of the state's K-12 educational accountability system.

Patrick, who attended CWU briefly, left college for the military and then went on to have a distinguished career in banking, including as President and CEO of Prudential Bancorporation, Mariner Savings and Metropolitan Bancorporation. However, if he had it to do over again, Patrick told an Ellensburg crowd of more than 70 people that he would have become a teacher.

"When children are born, they don't know they're not the child of Bill Gates; they don't know how much money they have; they don't know what their limitations are," he said. "Our job is to show them what they can be - and that is anybody - and to empower them and help them grow."

Students selected for the annual recognition program were nominated by their student teaching supervisors on the basis of their student teaching performance and academic achievement, and supporting letters from their cooperating teachers, according to Dr. Andrea Sledge, CEPS associate dean.