Past Law-Related Teacher of the Year Award Recipients

Retired after 39 years of teaching. He had the opportunity to be a guest host and commentator on NPR during the 1992 Presidential election (Clinton, Bush, and Perot)! He also wrote 1,860 questions on American History for the Jeopardy Game(Home Edition).

In 1990 he also won the Reader’s Digest American Hero in Education Award. For the past twenty years he has operated The Emmitt Till Social Justice Clinic, a free weekly clinic at area homeless shelters and soup kitchens. He has his own law firm in Kingston, NY.

Wrote book in 2016 about she and her husband’s life story called “It Was Magic”. In 2014 she was chosen as one of 100 Tulsa Women of Moxie.

Retired Educator who has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Educators for dedication and leadership in teaching social studies. Prior to retirement in 2007, she taught at various schools in Fairfax,VA and at the College of Southern Nevada. Dr. Miller has received more than 30 teaching related awards from local, national and international organizations. She has also published three books, including the legacy of Helen J. Stewart, the First Lady of Las Vegas.

The Indiana Senate named a Resolution in her honor for receipt of the 2000-2001 Crystal Apple Award for teaching excellence. She also established “Books for Bosnia” program – an English lending library in that country.

AP European History Teacher, and Adjunct professor at the University of Kansas. 2015-2016 – President of the Kansas Historical Foundation.

Elementary School

Henry Fardella, Sandown Central, Sundown, New Hampshire

Middle School

Sarah Jean Tate, Yukon Independent School, Oklahoma

John Lee Smith, E.LWright Middle, Columbia, South Carolina

Betty Swayne Leslein, Jasper, Georgia

High School

David Goldsmith, Nashua Senior High, Nashua, New Hampshire

Mrs. Joan M. Blanchard, Penacook, New Hampsire

Mrs. Jane Gilfillan, Clover, South Carolina 

History and Government Teacher – took 45 students to President Trump’s Inauguration – 7th trip to Washington, D.C. in the past 24 years.

In 2017, Indiana Bar Foundation honored him with the John Patrick Award for Civic Education.

Lori Urogdy Eiler of Shaw High School Leadership Academy in East Cleveland, OH, received the Educator of the Year, honoring her dedication to her students and her use of law-related curricula. The Ohio Center for Law-Related Education named the Eiler Award For Coaching Excellence after her. She advised mock trial teams for more than 35 years.

In 4th year of retirement from teaching, and enjoying traveling and spending more time with grandchildren. Volunteering at a school near her home. “Being honored by your organization in 2002 is an experience I will never forget. Mrs. Marshall was the presenter that year. Oh my! It still gives me goose bumps to remember that she is the person who gave me the award. During the awards ceremony I leaned over to Blake, the student whose work won recognition for both of us, and whispered, ‘Blake, remember this moment. You will understand later how special it is. Just remember it.’   I saved a copy of We the People to remember all the fun times I had with my third grader’s learning about our nation’s history. Thank you to all the wonderful people at ALA for the honor of being part of the event that year.

For the past 20 years has served as AP Government & Politics instructor at Coldwater High School. His students generally beat the national passing  average by more than 20 points every year. He has worked in 20 states conducting workshops and summer institutes. He has created lesson plans for the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society.

She is now teaching 8th Grade U.S. History, and is the Social Studies Instructional Coach at Fowler Middle School in Frisco, TX, having taught for 20 years at both the high and middle school levels. In 2017 she received the Gilder Lehrman History Teacher of the Year Award for the state of Texas, and this summer will be studying at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland through Gilder Lehrman. She annually presents at the State Bar of Texas Law-Related Education Conference, and has also presented at the Texas Council for Social Studies Conference. She will present this year at the National Council for Social Studies (NCSS) Conference. Along with teaching  and working for the State Bar of Texas Law Related Education as a   consultant and curriculum writer, she also works for the Center for Civic Education as the learn.civiced.org forum Moderator. This is a national forum available to the public, and as forum moderator she answers questions from teachers across the country. For the past three years she has judged the National Middle School We the People competition in Leesburg, VA. Her students have participated and won prizes in We the People, the Citizen Bee Competition sponsored by the State Bar of Texas Law-Related Education and the Hatton W . Sumners Foundation, and the National Geography Bee.  

His picture from the ALA TOY Awards ceremony is still his avatar on his LinkedIn profile. His students participate in the We the People contest and are active in the National History Day competition at the University of Maryland, and have been national champions twice.

He recently completed his 30th year in education, and is teaching 8th grade American History. His students are participating in the We the People and National History Day programs.

In his 30th year of teaching AP U.S. Government and AP Comparative Politics. He has continued to incorporate more constitutional and legal learnings into his courses. He has worked with Penn State Law School to use their extensive resources, and his goal is to include as much law related materials as possible to make the learning experience authentic. In 2015 he was awarded a PBS American Graduate Champion Award. He was also recognized as State College Magazine Teacher of the Year.

Ms. Kartchner started out as a school bus driver; moved onto school secretary, went back to school and got her teaching degree. She is currently Director of Outreach and Retention at Idaho State University  College of Arts and Letters. “It is really important that we recognize students and educators for developing young people to be contributing members of society and to increase their knowledge of our constitutional democracy in order to maintain our system of government”, Kartchner said. “Our goal is to bring Idaho from 50th in the nation to first in terms of the go on rate. We believe that this program will help Southeast Idaho’s top students enroll in Idaho State University and finish their college education, another step in  keeping Idaho’s best and brightest in Idaho.” She is also Director of the Idaho State University Road Scholarship program.

Continues to teach 8th Grade U.S. History and Arkansas History, as well as 9th Grade U.S. History, and is committed to teaching law-related education and citizenship in her classes.

Still teaching at Marquette Senior High School, where his primary assignment is AP U.S. Government and Politics, along with a section of Economics, and an elective course in Introduction to Law. He continues to conduct Moot Supreme Court sessions using cases currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. His classes are also very active in the We the People: The Citizenship and the Constitution program. His students participated in the We the People National Finals in Washington, D.C. in 2017 and 2018.

Since 2017 has been President of the New Hampshire Council for Social  Studies, while continuing to teach at Milford High School. He has organized two state conferences that have been highly successful. His “We the People” team won its 8th straight state championship, giving them 17 in the past 22 years! He has also appeared a number of times on New Hampshire Public Radio program “Civics 101.” We were honored to have Retired Associate Supreme Court Justice David Souter write a hand-written note of congratulations to Mr. Alcox on his being chosen ALA Teacher of the Year in 2017.

Mr. Bachman is the lead teacher for the Massapequa High School law program, as well as the Teacher Advisor for the school’s Mock Trial Club. He is a member of the Long Island Council for Social Studies. Mr. Bachman will be presenting with Judge Joseph Bianco at the Annual Meeting of the Long Island Council for the Social Studies in October. Judge Bianco has recently been appointed U.S. Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. After meeting Catherine Ruffing at the Teacher of the Year awards ceremony in 2018, Ms. Ruffing asked Mr. Bachman to take her place on the Street Law Leadership Circle, as Ms. Ruffing changed career paths. (See Ms. Ruffing’s updated information below.)  

 After moving to Bismarck, ND last year, he is teaching Global Studies to high school freshman and AP History to juniors at Bismarck High School and is able to incorporate legal aspects, case law, and the Constitution in his teachings.

Having retired from Centreville High School, she is now Senior Director for Teacher Professional Development Programs and Curriculum at Street Law, Inc. in Silver Spring, MD. In the past year she has trained teachers in San Diego, Chicago, St. Louis, Phoenix, Madison, WI, Baltimore, Montgomery County, MD and Fairfax County, VA. In June she co-directed the Street Law Summer Institute for Law Teachers. Sixty teachers were chosen from a very competitive pool to attend the Institute at Georgetown University Law Center and the Supreme Court of the United States. They learned about how the Court works and interactive student-centered methods to teach about the process and many cases before the Court during the last term. She has also been writing curriculum about partisan gerrymandering, the voire dire process, the amendment process, and many cases before the Supreme Court this last term. Cathy writes of her TOY awards ceremony, “I will always look back on that morning as the final act in my classroom teaching career.”

High School

Robert Fenster, Hillsborough High School ~ Hillsborough, New Jersey

Robert Fenster teaches U.S. History/Honors, (Native Americans through Reconstruction) and Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics. He also conducts Independent Student Study with a focus on International Law. He expands his knowledge of law, citizen's rights and legal thought with enrichment programs which he attends during the summer, and shares with his fellow educators.

His students have won numerous competitions in the Mock Trial Program, Model Congress (a program he created) and the Model United Nations Program. His Mock Trial teams have won six county championships. The Model Congress and Model United Nations teams have won dozens of team awards in several competitions over the year.

Dennis Brown, Huntley High School ~ Huntley, Illinois

A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Mr. Brown left a successful law school education at DePaul University College of Law to pursue a secondary teaching degree from Roosevelt University. At Huntley High School he transitioned from teaching English to American Law and Justice course with a "Street Law" text. Using this as a springboard, he developed a curriculum that more deeply investigated criminal and constitutional law; bringing skills taught in law school to high school students. The course were so popular that the school needed to hire another law teacher.

Christopher Lambert, Franklin High School ~ Reisterstown, Maryland

Mr. Lambert started his journy to law-related education as an attorney in the prestigious law firm of Whiteford, Taylor & Preston in Baltimore from 1983 to 1994. After volunteering as mock trial coach for the Baltimore schools, he felt he could make a greater contribution as a public school teacher. He gave up his successful career and took night and weekend courses to obtain certification as a teacher. While taking the certification classes, he worked as an Education Director and then, Director of Planning and Policy for Baltimore Schools.

High School

Debbie Keen, Career and Technical Education (CTE) Center, High School, Frisco, Texas

Debbie teaches high school courses in constitutional law civil law, criminal law, government, and court systems.  She manages approximately 140 students, develops and executes lessons, conferences and collaborates with all stakeholders, community outreach, district-level curriculum writer, and more!  Debbie was the 2015 Texas Teacher of the Year for the Texas Lawyers Auxiliary.  She is also an independent contractor with the State Bar of Texas Law-Related Education section.  She is a consultant, writer, and workshop presenter.  She is also an independent Contractor with the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center.  And in her spare time, she founded the Youth Safety and Civility Alliance with a diverse group of passionate high school students.  It is designed to encourage civil conversations in classrooms and at kitchen tables as we move through the 2020 presidential election.  Debbie lives in Plano, Texas, and teaches in Frisco, Texas.

Jaqueline Pope-Brothers, Sprague High School, Salem, Oregon

Jacqueline teaches AP Government and Political, Advanced Constitutional Law, Beginning Constitutional Law, and American Government in Sprague High School, in the Salem-Keizer School District in Oregon. She planned, developed, and implemented Advanced Placement, Social Studies, and Business curriculum focused on social justice and environmental awareness aligned with AP unit objectives, school learning targets, and district, state standard’s in addition to common core.   Among her many awards are the nomination and selection as State of Oregon Civic Scholar in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019; awarded Most Inspirational Teacher by the Sprague High School student body in 2013, 2014, and 2015.  In addition, she spends her own time attending seminars, conferences, institutes and workshops in order to provide more enrichment for her students.

Jane Schaefer, Vestavia Hills High School, Vestavia Hills, Alabama

Jane has been a teacher in Vestavia Hills High School in Alabama since 1979.  Her focus is on AP Microeconomics, AP US Government and Politics, AP Comparative Government and Politics.  She is also responsible for the Economics Challenge teams, Scholars Bowl, and We the People:  The Citizen and the Constitution team, Youth in Government program.  In addition to her Master of Arts in Education, she also has a Juris Doctorate from Duke University School of Law with honors.    In addition to her classroom activities, she is an IB Examine/Team Leader, mentor for National Board Certified Teacher candidates, James Madison Legacy Institute mentor teacher for Tennessee and Alabama, author for AP Microeconomics, AP US Government and Politics, and AP comparative Government and politics .  She was a State Secondary Economics Teach of the Year in 2009.

High School

Kelley Brown, East Hampton High School ~ East Hampton, MA

Ms. Brown believes the most important course she teaches is We the People:  The Citizen and the Constitution, a course in which high school students conduct real world research and apply their knowledge to legal and constitutional issues.  Students leave her course equipped to analyze the world around them. They are active in their community, and they want to lead the future.  Last year, her students were the We the People National Champions. 

For the past fifteen years, she has provided professional development in civics, law and social studies for well over one thousand K-12 educators across New England through multiple programs and independent consulting. 

Trish Everett, Pine Crest School – Upper - Pine Crest, Florida

Late 2019-Present - In response to developing events in American politics, restructured the course curriculum to address constitutional origins of impeachment power in real time. Incorporating Cass Sunstein's book, "Impeachment: A Citizens' Guide" and several primary sources, designed small units of project-based learning to engage students in the ongoing historic events of the current impeachment of the president. Dr. Emma Humphries, Chief Education Officer ofiCivics, did a video Q&A on March 27th, 2020 to discuss students' projects and future implications of the evolving institution of impeachment.

Suzanne Kammerman, Staples High School  - Westport, CT

Designed and implemented plans for three different courses: A.P. U.S. Government and Politics, American Government, Global Themes.  Taught A.P. U.S. Government and Politics to 11th and 12th graders for ten consecutive years with an average of 95%of students passing and 50% of students achieving 5s.

Launched the "We the People ... the Citizen and the Constitution" program at the school in 2015. Took

- First place at the state competition in 2021

- First place at the state competition and fifth place at the national finals in 2020.

- Second place in the state and competed at the national level in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Lillian B. Jarvis Teacher of the Year

Albert Paulsson, West Windsor – Plainsboro High School North~ West Winds, New Jersey

• Developed curriculum to immerse students in Civics and Law
• Prepared students for Virtual N.J. and National We the People competitions (we placed 2nd in N.J. this year and earned an invitation to Nationals)
• Organized speaker event through The New Jersey Courts on Careers in NJ Courts: Making a Difference Program
• Organized speaker event through The New Jersey Courts on New Jersey Criminal Justice Reform.
• Facilitated a volunteer opportunity for a student to participate on the Juvenile Conference Committee.
• Arranged speaking events for students to interact with legal professionals through the N.J. State Bar Foundation.
• Developed units in Criminal and Civil Law using material from the StreetLaw program.