Arkansas' Teachers Of The Year

An Arkadelphia first grade teacher is Arkansas Teacher of the Year. The state Education Department says 22-year-old Donna Adkins will receive a 15-thousand dollar cash award as the states top teacher. Adkins started the Reading Buddies program in her school district. The program pairs Ouachita Baptist University education majors with kindergarten students to help improve the childrens reading skills. Three others were named state finalists. They are Donna Coker, a White Hall High School English teacher; Harriett Pool of North Little Rock, a Lynch Drive Elementary School teacher; and Connye Holden, a Searcy High School English teacher. --- The state Education Department also named 16 regional Teacher of the Year award winners. They are: --Maribeth Garison of Conway, a sixth-grade teacher at Bob Courtway Middle School. --Denise Doyle, a sixth-grade teacher at Harrisburg Middle School. --Judy Jones, an English teacher at Nashville High School. --Shelia Johnson of West Memphis, a fourth-grade teacher at Faulk Elementary School. --Paula Osborne, a second-grade teacher at Newark Elementary School. --Norma Williams, an English teacher at Marmaduke High School. --Peter Joenks, a physics teacher at Springdale High School. --DEvelyn Willis, a first-grade teacher at Eureka Springs Elementary School. --Alva Reibe, a tenth-grade biology teacher at El Dorado High School. --Cristal West, a teacher at Portland Elementary School. --Mike Cherry of Texarkana, a biology and anatomy teacher at Washington 4-A Academy. --Virginia Jefferies of Fort Smith, a teacher at Ramsey Junior High.