Contact:
Elizabeth Blevins, Director, Office of Communications
Phyllis Noah, Communications Coordinator
Office: (740) 351-3810; FAX: (740) 351-3179; Cell: (740) 464-4854
940 Second Street – Portsmouth, Ohio 45662
E-mail: eblevins@shawnee.edu or pnoah@shawnee.edu
Web site: www.shawnee.edu

            Patricia Spradlin, assistant professor in English at Shawnee State University, has been nominated for the Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (OCTELA) Outstanding English Language Arts Educator award.
            She will need to complete an award portfolio to be “in the running” for the 2011 award.
            “I am quite honored by this nomination,” Spradlin said. “Now, I will have to work hard to do the best I can on the award portfolio.”
            The award was established to recognize excellence in language arts teaching at the elementary, middle school, high school and university level and for Special Distinction in service to the teaching of English Language Arts.
            An OCTELA Outstanding Language Arts Educator demonstrates excellence inside and outside of the classroom through leadership in and advocacy for the language arts and focused efforts to improve student learning. The nomination shows that Spradlin is considered to be among the best educators in the state.
            OCTELA was founded in 1957 as the English Association of Ohio (EAO) and is the only statewide affiliate of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) representing teachers of English language arts, pre-kindergarten through college.