MEDORA -- Maxine Trotter, a third- and fourth-grade teacher at DeMores School in Medora, a Parshall native and Minot State University graduate, is the winner of the 2009 Warren Kress Outstanding Geography Award from the North Dakota Geographic Alliance.
She will be honored today at 3 p.m. MST during a ceremony at the school. The public is invited.
"Geographic literacy must be set into a process of lifelong learning," Trotter said in a press release. "My wish is to create geographically informed students who understand geography as the study of people, places and environments. I want them to love geography and be able to describe our Earth, not in one way, but in various ways."
Trotter's 35-year teaching career includes public school instruction in Colorado and North Dakota. She has taught kindergarten through Grade 8, as well as a resource room for remediation and enrichment. A Parshall native, Trotter received a bachelor's degree in elementary education from the University of Mary and a master's degree in elementary education with a middle-school endorsement from Minot State University.
Trotter has represented NDGA in several National Geographic Society leadership training programs. She has held many leadership positions and served on many NDGA project-planning committees. She has shared her expertise with North Dakota teachers as both a presenter and consultant. She led a statewide effort to utilize standards-based education. Trotter presented monthly geography sessions for her school district, was involved in Standards and Leadership courses at MSU and attended National Council on Geography Education annual meetings.
The Warren Kress Outstanding Geography Teacher Award, which was established with contributions from the Kress family and NDGA members, honors the life of Warren Kress. Kress was a long-time North Dakota State University faculty member. While at NDSU, Kress actively taught and advised students and helped found the College of University Studies and the Council of Latin American Geographers.
The NDGA is located on the campus of Minot State University. To learn more about NDGA, call 1-800-235-1948 or 858-3063 or log on at (www.minotstateu.edu/ndga).
