Robert Otter has joined the staff at the research and advocacy organization, Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, as an education and fiscal policy analyst. Previously, he worked in the CPS communications office, where he was responsible for research and policy on the budget, labor negotiations, the longer school day and other CPS education policy initiatives.
Katherine McKnight, a professor of secondary education at National-Louis University’s College of Education, has received a Teacher’s Choice Award for “The Teacher’s Big Book of Graphic Organizers.” Bestowed by Learning Magazine, the award recognizes “the very best in classroom-tested, teacher-recommended products.”
Christopher Cassirer-Malaeb is the new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Management and Business at National-Louis University. Previously, Cassirer-Malaeb was president of Capella University in Minneapolis. He also taught at Johns Hopkins University and was an associate professor and endowed chair of health care management at the University of Minnesota.
Tony Pugh, a teacher at Woods Math and Science Academy in Englewood, has been named a 2012 Law-Related Education Teacher of the Year by the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago. The award recognizes outstanding educators for their commitment to teaching, competence in their field, concern for student development, encouragement of students’ abilities to think critically, leadership among colleagues and general efforts to promote civic learning.
Action Now’s Grow Your Own Teachers Program received a 2012 Rose Duhon-Sells Program Award from the National Association for Multicultural Education. Action Now is a convening member of the Grow Your Own teacher preparation program. The award goes to programs that meet the needs of a diverse population, offers a curriculum that responds to the diversity of the nation and fosters connections between home, school and the community.