EDUCATION ACHIEVEMENTS.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Three Eugene graduates earn Merit scholarships

Three 2006 Eugene high school graduates are among the recipients of college-sponsored National Merit Scholarships. They are among 2,100 winners announced recently, bringing the nationwide total of recipients to approximately 4,500. Colleges selected winners from among the finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program who will attend the sponsoring institution.

The latest recipients were Liza Burns of South Eugene High School, from Boston University; Jeremy Schifberg, also from South Eugene, from Northwestern University; and Christopher Keady of Sheldon High School, from Lewis & Clark College. The awards provide $500 to $2,000 each year for up to four years of undergraduate study. More than 1.3 million juniors became eligible for the program by taking the 2004

Preliminary SAT qualifying test. The 16,000 semifinalists represent less than 1 percent of high school seniors.

State superintendent praises teacher

Kevin Gordon, a fifth-grade teacher at Eugene's Parker Elementary School, recently was featured in Superintendent of Public Instruction Susan Castillo's weekly online Superintendent's Update. In her "Teacher Feature" article, Castillo wrote that Gordon is "beloved by his students, parents, and colleagues for his creativity, leadership, sincerity, and passion for education."

She quoted former Principal Mike Garling, Deputy Superintendent Tom Henry and colleague Christine White, all of whom described Gordon as a dedicated and innovative role model. Said White: "I know this sounds crazy, but we all love going to staff meetings. He always makes it fun. He's really creative and it rubs off on us."

Gordon has served on numerous school and district committees, and is involved in governance, curriculum design, policy issues and other activities, Castillo said. He played a key role in developing an innovative instructional program at Parker.

South Eugene grad places in debate tournament

Jeremy Schifberg, a 2006 graduate of South Eugene High School, won fourth place in the national championship for the Lincoln-Douglas Debate at the Lincoln Financial Group/National Forensic League National Speech Tournament, held in Texas earlier this summer.

Schifberg won a $2,000 college scholarship from Lincoln Financial Group. More than 2,800 students from across the country competed in the week-long tournament.

Junction City student to attend leadership event

Chelsey Hunts, a student at Junction City High School, has been selected to attend the 2006 Congressional Student Leadership Conference, sponsored by LeadAmerica, at Lake Forest College in Chicago.

The program is for academically talented and promising young leaders from across the United States and abroad. Exceptional students with a record of academic achievement and extracurricular or community involvement are invited to participate.