Written by: Sam Mann
The UAB School of Education and Human Sciences had a wonderful showing at The Alabama and Mississippi Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (AMTESOL) with many alumni receiving awards.
The Susan Spezzini Rural Teacher of the Year Award is an award annually given to one educator from Alabama and one from Mississippi, who have made significant contributions to the education of EL students in rural areas. The award is named after UAB’s own, Dr. Susan K. Spezzini, who is retiring after 22 years at UAB.
This year’s Alabama recipient is DeAnna Buhl, an educator from Etowah County Schools. DeAnna Buhl has committed so much to her English Learner (EL) students, particularly through her leadership in organizing Etowah County’s EL summer camps. Buhl is a two-time alumna of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where she earned both her MAEd in ESOL (2009) and her Education Specialist degree in ESOL (2013).
The Teacher of the Year awardees for the state of Alabama were Shay Stewart and Debbie Frey. As a team, they have created a specialized newcomer program within Baldwin County Schools to ensure that EL students have access to high-quality education. Both teachers are dually certified, with Stewart specializing in English Language Arts (ELA) and ESL, and Frey focusing on History and ESL. They created a program that integrates ELA and History credits with focused language acquisition support. Their efforts have greatly benefited newcomer students, providing them with a holistic education that supports both academic and linguistic development. Both teachers are proud alumni of UAB’s ESOL certification program, with Stewart completing her certification in 2004 and Debbie in 2007. Stewart earned her MAEd from UAB when our ESL certification program was just getting started. In 2005, Stewart was the first student to receive UAB’s inaugural Outstanding ESL Student award. Now, 20 years later, she is the first teacher in Alabama to receive AMTESOL’s inaugural ESL Teacher of the Year award.
