LETTER: Recognizing Sharon Dravvorn

It was announced recently that Sharon Dravvorn, a Math Teacher at Woodbridge High School, has won the prestigious Milken National Educator Award. I can’t think of anyone more deserving.

Ms. Dravvorn is an amazing teacher who goes to great lengths to ensure the success of her students. She sets high expectations for each student that are clearly understood and reinforced daily. She
also makes sure that there are tools in place for each individual student to help them reach those expectations.

First, she spends time during the summer learning all that she can about each student. Then she develops a relationship of respect, trust and mutual caring with every student as soon as they enter her
room.

She is firm and consistent but always there for her students, and they quickly learn this. She uses a variety of manipulatives to make learning math fun, and she helps the students become responsible
for their own learning. This helps them in every class. One of the things that has been repeatedly noted is that Ms. Dravvorn’s has a 100 percent pass rate on the State Standards tests. That is very
impressive, but it can be boasted by many excellent teachers around the nation. What makes Ms. Dravvorn’s accomplishments stand out is that in many of the past several years, every student she has
had in her class failed the eighth grade Math SOL test prior to entering high school. Ms. Dravvorn has taken every one of those students and prepared them to not only pass Algebra I but to have a 100
percent pass rate on the SOL test after the course. That is an amazing statistic that really sets Ms. Dravvorn apart.

We are very proud of you Ms. Dravvorn! Keep up the GREAT work!

ALAN C. ROSS

Woodbridge