COSTELLO RECIPIENT OF 2006 NATIONAL CHRISTA MCAULIFFE AWARD

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact person:

Joy Quintana, First Secretary and Consul, Embassy of the Philippines
wdcpecul@aol.com/Tel. No. (202) 4679397

Recently, the Board of Directors of the National Education Association Foundation has selected Arlene Costello, Teacher-in-Charge of the Program for Academically Talented Students Center at Brentwood Middle School, Pensacola,  to receive the 2006 Christa McAuliffe Award.  This memorial award is given to a past Foundation grant recipient who has contributed extraordinary service to the foundation or its grantees, and who has also exhibited outstanding innovation in teaching and learning.

In keeping with the spirit and achievements of Christa McAuliffe, this award recognizes educator who effectively use technology for student-centered instruction, and who take advantage of their position at the cutting edge to bring about positive change in education beyond their classrooms.

With more than three decades of teaching as an educator and education leader, Ms. Costello exemplifies the power of using technology to revolutionize teaching and learning.  A past president of the Escambia Education Association in Pensacola, Fl, she served as one of the NEA Foundation's five 1993-1994 Christa McAuliffe Educators.  In this role, she helped the foundation explore multicultural education and how technology can be used to meet the needs of the diverse population in today's schools.  In the early 1990's, Ms. Costello created a pilot gifted and talented program for under-represented students in her school district.  An for more than a decade, Ms. Costello has been an outstanding spokesperson for the foundation, making presentations and spreading the word about the foundation and its work among education employees in her home city, state, and beyond.  She is an effective advocate on behalf of public education, and has served in a number of leadership positions, including serving on the Unit Accreditation Board of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education, the Board that accredits teacher education colleges and universities.

Arlene Costello, the first Filipino-American and foreign born recipient,  was recognized for her award at the 12th Annual Black Tie Salute for Education Gala which took place in Washington, D.C. last February 8, 2007.  Mrs. Costello received a commemorative gift, a $1,000 check, and an opportunity to participate in an educational symposium on Student Centered Schools and Quality Professional Development Programs.  She will also have the opportunity to attend the Annual Meeting of the Association of Teacher Colleges and Universities in New York City on February 23-27, 2007 to learn more about how different teacher education colleges and universities prepare future teachers.

There were more than 900 guests that attended the Gala.  Among the guests that joined Mrs. Costello   were Joy Quintana, First Secretary and Consul of the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C.; Segun Eubanks, Director of Teaching and Learning of NEA; Dr. Arthur Wise, President of NCATE;  Donna Gollnick, Senior Vice-President of NCATE;  Gail Husbands, EEA President; and Andy Ford, Florida Education Association President and Ms. Costello husband, Frank Costello

The McAuliffe Award is among the highest distinctions bestowed by the foundation, and represents an opportunity to express appreciation for Ms. Costello's work as a public education leader.

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