People

In a Hawaii classroom, every dog has its day in Paws for a Cause; the "Faculty Lounge" isn't what' you'd expect  in  Bring in Da' Funk; a retiree overcomes racism in Some Kind of Teacher; and 7- and 8-year olds tap into technology in Pint-sized Power Pointing .

Paws for a Cause

In Susan Luehrs' classroom in Hawaii, every dog has its day—and her special education students have a hand in their care.

Forget hamsters and turtles as classroom pets. Luehrs' special education center at Kahuku High and Intermediate School has gone to the dogs.

Knowing that not all students are college-bound, Luehrs created Life Center, a school-sponsored facility where students learn domestic and career skills, such as carpentry, gardening, and the most popular, dog grooming and training. By giving hands-on experience with the cuddly canines, Luehrs reaches students in ways unimaginable in a traditional classroom.

Occasionally Luehrs (an animal lover who owns eight dogs!) and her students take the dogs on visits to schools and hospitals. By teaching others about

the animals, the students develop confidence and public speaking skills as well.

Luehrs also created the "Read to Willie" elementary school program in which second and third graders read to the therapy dogs. "Since dogs don't laugh when they make mistakes, the young students love reading to their attentive four-legged friends," Luehrs says.

No longer ostracized, Luehrs' special education students are envied for their involvement in such innovative projects.

"At graduation this year we had the alumni return. I was so pleased to learn that each one has a good job and is being productive," she says. A couple secured jobs that they knew they'd love before even arriving for

the first day of work—as professional dog groomers.

—Daniel Moise

Bring in Da' Funk

For journalism teacher Timm Pilcher, the faculty lounge isn't a cramped room with teachers milling around the water cooler.

His Faculty Lounge is a Des Moines, Iowa, band boasting six educators. They specialize in 1970s funk favorites—everyone from Marvin Gaye to Earth, Wind, and Fire to Kool and the Gang. "Boogie Nights" and "Get Down on It," are favorites in their repertoire.

"The three things important to us are family, fun, and funk," Pilcher says. "And it has to be fun. The minute it becomes a job we will stop."

The band rocks a variety of venues, including the schools where its members teach. (Or, in music biz terms: their day jobs.) Faculty Lounge has even provided the soundtrack for proms at Pilcher's Hoover High School. And they've got a message behind the music.

"We feel that it's important to give back to the community as teachers," Pilcher says.

To that end, the band performs at various benefit concerts, including an annual appearance at Hoover High's Best Buddies Dance. Best Buddies enhances the lives of students with disabilities by providing them opportunities for friendships. The band also performed for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Pilcher discovered that the band has had a positive effect on his role as a teacher too. "It gives students a chance to see that teachers are real more than anything else. We have a pretty large student following. It doesn't hurt to have your students think you're hip and funky."

—Delece Smith-Barrow

Some Kind of Teacher

He was only in third grade, but retired educator Elias Chapa saw what his future held. That's when he found his inspiration in his enthusiastic teacher, Miss Pond.

"I just fell in love with her and the way she taught," says Chapa, who now lives in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and is a member of the Michigan Education Association-Retired.

But years later, a high school guidance counselor advised him, "Why don't you go to work in the factory making cars, like the rest of your kind."

His kind was Mexican, because his grandparents were from Mexico. Chapa was born in the United States.

Chapa was determined to follow in Miss Pond's footsteps, although he had no support or guidance. When he earned an associate's degree and applied to a four-year college, he was  told he wasn't eligible. After taking on other jobs, Chapa found work cleaning a public school, but faced prejudice again when he was fired for supposedly not properly cleaning the bathrooms. Teachers in his school pleaded his case and Chapa kept his job. Eventually, he enrolled in Eastern Michigan University part-time and earned his teaching credential.

While waiting for an opening, he subbed at the same school where he was also the custodian. Finally, he got his own class and went on to teach for 27 years with many low-income, minority students. "I told them, 'If I could make it, you can make it,' and some of them came back to say thanks," Chapa says.

Active in the union, he served on the MEA board of directors and pushed for more involvement for Hispanics and support professionals in Association leadership. For his work he received MEA's annual Herman W. Coleman Human Relations Award this year.

—Alain Jehlen

Pint-sized Power Pointing

Michigan teacher Peggy Savage Dunn believes it's never too soon to become a computer whiz. Her students are tapping into technology early.

What educator isn't proud to learn her students have become teachers? Elementary school teacher Dunn didn't expect her kids to begin their careers in the second grade, though.

Dunn, the 2003 Michigan Elementary Science Teacher of the Year, believes in honing students' computing skills early. Incorporating computers in her students' curriculum proved rewarding when her 7- and 8-year-olds impressed the attendees of the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning conference with their Microsoft PowerPoint presentations.

The students divided into groups and each group worked on a presentation, such as "Stop Smoking" and "Pet Care." To prepare them, Dunn taught students how to scan and download pictures as well as keyboarding, layout, and design skills.

A teacher for more than 25 years and the "web goddess" for the Okemos Education Association Web site, Dunn is currently teaching kindergartners—and she has already introduced computers into her classroom. To her surprise, some of her students had already worked with computers for a year or two before entering her class.

"These kids are just coming up in that age," she says.

For the last seven years, Dunn created Web pages for each of her classes. They include her classes' Internet projects, newsletters, and links to education sites such as Learning.com—the online teaching tool she used to give students technology training.

"They're not afraid of computers like adults are," Dunn says. "They're not afraid to make mistakes."

—Delece Smith-Barrow

Photos Lacy Luehrs; Mary Daily Lange; Linda Nuttall