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H-E-B Kicks Off Edcucation Award Campaign

Posted on: Thursday, 12 January 2006, 12:00 CST

By Kevin Garcia, The Brownsville Herald, Texas

Jan. 12--Brownsville School district and H-E-B officials kicked off the annual Excellence in Education Award campaign Wednesday at Lopez High School.

For five years, the statewide grocery store chain has recognized teachers, and more recently principals and districts, for outstanding achievements. Each recognized educator receives a large sum of money, with an equal or greater amount going to the school where they work.

If chosen for H-E-B's Excellence in Education Award, the teacher could win up to $25,000.

Last school year, Lopez High School principal Maggie Gutierrez was named secondary principal of the year for the state of Texas by the award, earning her $10,000 and Lopez an additional $25,000.

"I think I have about $12,000 left," she said of the school award, most of which has gone to teacher recognition. Gutierrez saved most of the money she personally received and hopes to continue her own education with it.

Lopez was chosen as the kick-off site for the 2006 awards by H-E-B. The company is now accepting educator nominations at any H-E-B location or through forms at www.heb.com

Jill Reynolds, H-E-B public affairs specialist, said company chief executive officer Charles Butt wanted to help educators.

"He wanted to recognize teachers and recognize what an outstanding job they are doing," she said.

Nominations must be post-marked by Feb. 10, and educators can nominate themselves.

"I think it's an excellent program, and it's a connection between the business world and education," Gutierrez said. "High schools are always in a situation where we have to prepare students for the real world, but we don't see big businesses contributing at the school level."

That is changing with programs like Excellence in Education.

"Can you imagine a teacher winning an award just for being a great teacher?" Gutierrez asked.

A drawing at the event Wednesday resulted in a $500 cash scholarship for Lopez senior Diana Reyna.

"I think it's a great idea because you don't normally hear about stories giving away money," the 18-year-old said. "This helps other students get an education and have a great career."

kgarcia@brownsvilleherald.com

ON THE NET:

www.heb.com

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Brownsville Herald, Texas

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: The Brownsville Herald

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