Three Vermont women, Mary Burns, Director of the Burlington YMCA, Julie Cadwallader Staub, Grant Director for the Early Learning Challenge—Race to the Top grant for the state of Vermont, and Blanche Podhajski, Founder and President of the Stern Center for Language and Learning, were recently honored in Montclair, New Jersey by the Turrell Fund as champions for children. Each was given the Turrell Champion Award.
The Turrell Fund, founded in 1935, supports organizations which directly provide for or foster the creation and delivery of quality developmental and educational services to at-risk children and their families in Vermont and designated areas of New Jersey.
The Turrell Champion Award is given to individuals who demonstrate the furthering of the Turrell Fund vision, mission and values in important and lasting ways. There have only been five Champions named in the 12 year history of the recognition program and they include four legendary agency heads from New Jersey, as well as one to Rick Davis of the Vermont organization, the Permanent Fund.
The three women who were honored this year have offered substantial leadership and knowledge in the area of education for Vermont’s children for years.
In addition to being named as a Turrell Champion, Dr. Podhajski was also invited to give a presentation to 100 people on 21st Century Learning, which encouraged activism from the audience relative to using brain science to drive effective practices for literacy from birth to adulthood.
The Stern Center for Language and Learning is a nonprofit dedicated to enriching the lives of learners because all great minds don’t think alike. Since 1983, we have worked with children and adults to help them reach their academic, social and professional goals. We provide research-based learning evaluations and customized instruction, including those with learning disabilities, dyslexia, language disorders, social learning challenges, autism, attention deficit disorders and learning differences. We design and deliver customized professional learning programs and system development using current research and trends in education. Through the Cynthia K. Hoehl Institute, we work with schools and individual educators in early literacy, oral language, reading, written language, social cognition, executive functioning and math. We have offices in Williston, VT and West Lebanon, NH. Scholarships are available.