RADFORD – The McGlothlin Celebration of Teaching, to be held at Radford University on Monday, April 6, includes a special presentation for teachers and parents, “Sesame Workshop: Turning on the Power of Literacy,” and a cameo appearance by Sesame Street’s beloved Grover. Randell Bynum, director of outreach for Electric Company, will host the literacy presentation, which focuses on the return of PBS’s “The Electric Company” and ways teachers and parents can use the program to improve children’s literacy skills.

Grover will make a cameo appearance during the McGlothlin Awards for Teaching Excellence awards presentation ceremony, which will culminate an afternoon celebrating teaching and learning with activities for families and students of all ages.

Sponsored by the McGlothlin Foundation, Radford University’s College of Education and Human Development and Blue Ridge PBS, the McGlothlin Celebration of Teaching honors past and present winners of the McGlothlin Awards for Teaching Excellence and all public school teachers in the region.

Teachers, students and families in the region are invited to all celebratory events, which include activities for all ages from 4 to 6:30 p.m. and the McGlothlin Awards Ceremony from 7 to 8 p.m. Admission is free, but pre-registration is recommended by Monday, March 30 at www.radford.edu/mcglothlin.

The schedule of events is as follows:

• 3:30 - 6 :30 p.m. Check-in, Peters Hall, Fairfax Street entrance

• 4 - 6:30 p.m. Family Celebration of Teaching and Learning: Presentations and Activities for All Ages. Includes chemistry magic show, tours of planetarium and geology museum, interactive activities in the visual and performing arts, outdoor cooperative games and outdoor augmented reality game (weather permitting) and more.

• 4:30 - 5:15 p.m. Special Presentation for Teachers and Parents, “Sesame Workshop: Turning on the Power of Literacy,” Bonnie Hurlburt Student Center Auditorium

• 7 - 8 p.m. McGlothlin Awards Ceremony, Bondurant Auditorium, Preston Hall

The McGlothlin Awards for Teaching Excellence, sponsored by the McGlothlin Foundation of Bristol, Va., are among the largest teaching awards in the nation and are available only to educators in this region. Each year two award winners, one teaching in grades K-5 and one in grades 6-12, receive $25,000 each, with the stipulation that $10,000 must be used, within a year, for international travel and/or study to broaden the thinking and experience of the winning teachers and further enhance their excellence as professional educators. This year is the tenth anniversary of the awards program, which has been administered since 1999 by Blue Ridge PBS.

RU alumni Rebecca Boone ’74, Jayanne Bridges ’92 and Elizabeth Lester ’80 are three of six finalists for the 2009 awards. Boone teaches at Troutville Elementary School in Botetourt County, Bridges at Christiansburg Middle School in Montgomery County, and Lester at Patrick Henry Elementary School in Martinsville. Teresa Hash of Marion Intermediate School in Smyth County, Mary Slone of South Floyd High School in Floyd County, Ky., and Erin Wigginton of Pulaski County High School in Pulaski County are also finalists for the awards.

To learn more and to register for this free event, visit www.radford.edu/mcglothlin, e-mail dgrose4@radford.edu or call (540) 831-5782.