Tonya Perry, Ph.D., assistant professor of curriculum and instruction in the School of Education, has been awarded the 2013 Richard W. Halle Award for Outstanding Middle Level Educator by the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE).
Perry, a past Alabama Teacher of the Year, was noted for her work to “promote understanding of the developmental needs and characteristics of young adolescents, especially in the English language arts,” according to the website. She is committed to teaching and researching adolescent reading and writing and curriculum design in an effort to help teachers and students develop their talents and maximize their potential.
Perry is co-director of The Red Mountain Writing Project and has worked in various capacities with the Alabama Council of Teachers of English. Through her involvement with NCTE, she helped establish the Middle Level Section, was elected Middle Level Representative-at-Large and has been a member on several committees and advisory boards including ReadWriteThink.
Perry has written several books, including “Supporting Students in a Time of Core Standards: Grades 6-8,” and has had numerous articles published in Voices from the Middle and English Journal.