At the time of her award, Kim Tredick's fifth-grade classroom at Sulphur Springs Community School in Canyon Country was known throughout the district as a model for differentiated instruction. As the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) site coordinator, Ms. Tredick made learning objectives clear to all of her students and constantly monitored their progress with frequent formal and informal assessments to identify specific learning needs. Based on input from school and district psychologists, Ms. Tredick designed "Let's Play," a skills-based program of social interaction for students with special needs such as Asperger's syndrome and autism. She played a key role in the school's Young Authors Conference, which rewards and showcases student writing in front of family and friends. The school's GATE students consistently scored between 95 to 100 percent in all content areas, with more than two-thirds of Ms. Tredick's students scoring proficient or advanced. She played an instrumental role on a committee to help the district adopt a standards-based report card. Her own report card is full of high marks and excellent achievements.
