The Christine D. Sarbanes Teacher of the Year Award

Michael Sarbanes and Aisha Watson

2012 Christine D. Sarbanes Teacher of the Year Award Recipient

The Maryland Humanities Council is pleased to award the 2012 Christine D. Sarbanes Award to Aisha Watson, sixth grade Language Arts teacher at City Neighbors Charter School in Baltimore City. Ms. Watson was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and currently lives in Harford County.  During her early years she found a love for dance, music and children, which led her to pursue her BA in Special Education from West Chester University.  Her interest in helping others prompted her journey to obtain an MA in School Counseling from Loyola University.

Ms. Watson uses a variety of approaches to positively impact student reading at City Neighbors: an annual 25-book challenge for each student, one-on-one conferences to help students select books that are just right for them, and the occasional special focus on poetry and plays. This year in particular, she has used arts integration as a way to tap into the students’ love and understanding of reading through book-making, movement, dance, and drama.

Her principal, Mike Chalupa, says, “In these ways, Ms. Watson makes reading and literacy a positive experience and one in which children individually and creatively connect with reading.”

When learning that she had been chosen for such recognition, she remarked "I'm elated and very honored to be recognized for the work I do with my students. I have had my students participate in this contest for the past four years and will continue to do so. Encouraging students to read and reflect on how a particular book, author or subject matter has changed or somehow touched their lives is just a small portion of my job as an educator. And I love every moment of it!”  

WATCH a brief interview with the 2011 Christine D. Sarbanes Teacher of the Year Recipient, Cynthia Barry, from St. Martin's-in-the-Field Day School, on MHC's YouTube channel. Ms. Barry gives advice for educators wanting to incorporate Letter About Literature into thier lesson plans and to whom she would write a letter for Letters About Literature.

About the Award

The Maryland Humanities Council (MHC) offers a special prize in memory of Christine D. Sarbanes, former MHC board member. Honoring Christine Sarbanes' work as a teacher, this award will be part of the Maryland Letters About Literature (LAL) contest and will recognize a Maryland teacher who works to promote reading.

Through a life of dedicated public service, Christine D. Sarbanes shared her love of literature and her passion for the humanities with the people of Maryland. Born in London, she received her B.A and M.A. in Classics from Oxford University, taught Classics for many years at the Gilman School in Baltimore, and was a lecturer at Goucher College. She devoted her free time serving on the boards of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Walters Art Museum, Meals on Wheels, US Committee for UNICEF, and the University of Maryland Medical School, and served as Vice Chair of the Society for Preservation of Greek Heritage. Christine Sarbanes was the wife of former U.S. Senator Paul S. Sarbanes and the mother of U.S. Rep. John P. Sarbanes, Janet Sarbanes and Michael Sarbanes.

This annual award will be presented to a Maryland educator who participates in LAL and has worked to promote reading and writing in their school by employing creative teaching methods to inspire students to read great literature. Maryland teachers who have had their classes participate in LAL for and work avidly to promote reading throughout the school will be eligible.

LAL is a national contest, sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, that encourages students in grades four through twelve to write to an author who has changed their view of the world or themselves. LAL is run in Maryland by the Maryland Center for the Book, a program of MHC.

The Christine D. Sarbanes Award will be presented to the selected honoree at the LAL awards ceremony April 16th at the Enoch Pratt Free Library during the CityLit Festival.

Click here to read about the 2011 winners!