Gayle Richter chairs the English and reading department at Zion-Benton High School in Zion, where she has been teaching for 20 years. During her tenure, she has helped earn the school a U.S. Department of Education Excellence Award by developing such programs as a creative writing lab and the Writing Across the Curriculum project, both of which encourage students to approach their work innovatively as well as critically. Ms. Richter's goal for her students is self-discovery, and she succeeds in this "by taking students on a journey through literature and expression to explore human experience and potential."
