Date:
2/18/2004
Contact: Wendel Sloan at 505.562.2253
PORTALES—An Eastern New Mexico University graduate, now an administrator in the Granbury Independent School District in Texas, was chosen as a 2004 recipient of the Instructional Leadership Awards at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas. Nancy Alana, a 1976 elementary education graduate of ENMU and now principal at Nettie Baccus Elementary in Granbury, was named as a winner during a recent Effective Schools Project conference held on the Tarleton campus.
Awarded through Tarleton's College of Education, the Instructional Leadership awards recognize individuals who are committed to professional growth on campus, respect the importance of positive community relations and promote site-based decision making. An administrator and a teacher are selected as recipients and each receives a cash stipend and a commemorative rocking chair.
Mrs. Alana has been at Baccus Elementary for five years. Her leadership and guidance in developing a nurturing campus staff earned her the 2004 Instructional Leadership Administrator Award, according to a news release
from Tarleton. During 30 years of teaching, she has worked with pre-kindergarten through third grade and believes that teachers, parents and students share in the responsibility of education.
"I believe that every student was placed in my school by Divine Appointment; therefore every child is special to me as I seek to meet their educational and emotional needs," said Mrs. Alana. "I am proud to be an educator and I believe I can make a difference in the lives of others."
A graduate of ENMU and Tarleton, Mrs. Alana is praised by her faculty, school board and parents for reaching out to the entire community through parent workshops, volunteer/mentor programs and community service programs. According to the news release, Mrs. Alana understands that the involvement of the parents in the school and the interaction of the parents with the staff helps all to reach the educational goals of each student. Her common sense, good judgment and solid morale values approach to education have contributed to a positive learning environment at Baccus Elementary. "I support effective instruction by providing quality staff development for my staff," said Mrs. Alana. "We love and care for our students from the ages of three to 10 as they move from grade to grade, class to class, beginning the moment they step out of the car or off the bus."