Oakridge Elementary teacher named History Teacher of the Year

 Jan Rolan, a fifth and sixth grade social studies teacher at Oakridge Elementary School has been named Utah’s 2011 National History Teacher of the Year.

Rolan received $1,000 and an archive of books and historical resources for the Oakridge school library.

“The books came with a book plate that states that they were given in my honor,” Rolan said. She has not decided yet where to use the award money.

 “Jan Rolan is one of the finest teachers I have ever worked with,” Oakridge Principal Rosanne Newell said. “She is passionate about history.”

 The selection of the state winner is based upon criteria such as: at least three years of classroom teaching experience, a commitment to teaching American, state and local history, use of creativity and imagination in the classroom and effective use of documents, artifacts, historic sites and oral histories.

Rolan was nominated by Granite School District Social Studies Specialist Dawn Houser.

 “She is the perfect choice for the award,” Newell said. “Her students consistently score between 95 and 97 on CRTs.” Criterion Reference Tests are administered each spring to assess student competencies and help teachers determine effectiveness of teaching strategies.

 Rolan holds a B.A. in education from Westmont College in Santa Barbara and a master’s in educational technology from Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass. She has been teaching elementary school for 28 years -- the past 11 at Oakridge. In 2008 Rolan was the recipient of the Excel Outstanding Teacher of the Year award.

 Since 2004, the National History Teacher of the Year award celebrates and recognizes outstanding American history teachers. The award is co-sponsored by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, the History Channel and Preserve America. Elementary teachers and middle and high school teachers are honored on alternate years.