Lisa Helsel, an educational psychology alumna, is the 2023 recipient of the National Council of Teachers of English’s Donald H. Graves Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Writing.
This award recognizes teachers in grades K-6 who, through the teaching of writing, demonstrate an understanding of student improvement in writing. Helsel will be formally recognized at the 2023 Conference on English Leadership Convention, scheduled for Nov. 19-21, 2023, in Columbus, Ohio.
“In the world of teaching writing, Donald Graves was just an all-around rockstar in making the shift to writing being student-centered. It was reading his work when I started teaching back in the 1990s that was the catalyst that built my love for teaching writing, and his name came up again and again as I worked on my master’s project with you,” Helsel said in an email to former faculty advisor and Distinguished University Professor Daphne Greenberg. “To receive an award in his name is a career topper for me for sure.”
Helsel is currently a third-grade teacher at Stone Academy of Communication Arts in Greenville, S.C.
Visit the NCTE.org Donald Graves Writing Award website for more information.