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NewsChris Lenius Receives Regional Outstanding Educator HonorsThe Metro ECSU and the Center for Academic Excellence have announced that a teacher and academic challenge coach at Eastern Carver County Public Schools, Christopher Lenius, has been named as a regional honoree in the WEM Foundation's 2010 Outstanding Educator Awards program. Lenius is being honored in the Academic Challenge Coach of the Year category, which recognizes coaches of student teams who participate and compete in academic challenge or enrichment programs endorsed by the Minnesota Academic League Council. Lenius has been teaching and coaching for nine years. He is currently the high school coordinator of gifted services and coaches Senior High Knowledge Bowl (KB) and Quiz Bowl. Prior to his role as gifted services coordinator, he was the head coach for the academic teams and taught honors and Advanced Placement (AP) chemistry, physics and forensics at Chaska High School. "Chris is a creative thinker, an advocate for student learning and a teacher who inspires others," stated David Brecht, Chaska High School principal. "Chris has a wonderful ability to support and motivate learners to achieve their personal best inside and outside the classroom as is evidence by the success of the Chaska High School academics programs since he has been a coach." Lenius participated in Knowledge Bowl as a high school student himself and volunteered to coach the team while in college. He assisted with coaching the Knowledge Bowl team when he returned to Chaska as a teacher, eventually taking over the head coaching position from his mentor, Jan Baker. Under his leadership, the Chaska program grew from 38 to 58 participants, becoming one of the largest in Minnesota, while continuing to win state championships and succeed in national competitions. During the past 10 years, his teams have won two state championships in Knowledge Bowl and Quiz Bowl, as well as two runner-up finishes in both events. In 2006, the Quiz Bowl team finished second at the national competition. "Under Chris' leadership, academic competition earned a very positive reputation in both the school at large and the community, since these teams have a better record than many of our athletic teams," stated Kris Hammann, science teacher and academic teams coach. Each member of the KB team has an important role to play in order for the group to accomplish its goals. Lenius helps team members choose personal specialty topics like history, literature, geography or the arts, depending on their interests. He also employs student leaders, which he calls "program captains," to assist with team T-shirt design, order collection and distribution, coordinate fundraisers, supervise peers during home tournament set up, and conduct informal captains' practices. His contributions to KB also include the creation of the Knowledge Bowl Code of Ethical Conduct, hardware and software for running KB competitions called Pocket Box, and KB tournament scoring software called Pocket Score, all of which are used by KB teams throughout Minnesota. In addition to the Academic Coach of the Year Award, honorees are named for the Ethics in Education Award (exemplary educators who embody ethical behavior and promote ethical development for students through classroom or school activities, policies or curriculum) and the Teacher Achievement Award (exemplary teachers who support, inspire and assist students to attain greater learning as evidenced by student achievement). Six educators received statewide honors, and 12 educators were named as regional honorees for the 2010 WEM Foundation Outstanding Educator Awards. The Center for Academic Excellence (CAE) is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and recognizing high levels of academic achievement for students and teachers. In addition, CAE acts as a catalyst for increasing student achievement through improved school performance and accountability. CAE works to foster partnerships that provide educational opportunities and trainings for its members. For more information on CAE or the WEM Outstanding Educator Program, visit www.mncae.org. | ||||||||||||||
