BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS

Local teachers among 1,200 awarded $20,000Five Newport-Mesa Unified School District teachers will receive $20,000 each as part of the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards Incentive Awards.

State Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell announced Tuesday that $5.4 million would be distributed among 1,200 teachers around the state. The rewards will be allotted in yearly $5,000 installments.

The grants are awarded to teachers who work at what the state calls high-priority schools for four consecutive years. They spend two years studying for and becoming nationally board certified.

Sixteen of Newport-Mesa’s more than 1,200 teachers are board certified. Three College Park Elementary School teachers and two Wilson Elementary School teachers are receiving the award incentive this year.

To become nationally board certified, teachers must complete two tests. One is a general assessment and the other is a performance assessment. Teachers are videotaped in their classroom to show they use high-yield instructional strategies to accelerate the students’ achievement, said Christine Jurenka, the district’s director of instruction and leadership development. Teachers in Newport-Mesa also receive a salary boost for becoming board certified.

John Wayne Airport seeks student artistsJohn Wayne Airport officials are searching for the next young up-and-coming artist for the airport’s 17th annual student art contest, which is open to Orange County students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

This year’s them is “Airfield,” and winners could be taking off on a vacation with airline tickets from Aloha, Continental or Frontier airlines. Other prizes include tickets for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Bowers Museum, the Discovery Science Center, the Anaheim Ducks, the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum, the Irvine Museum and the Santa Ana Zoo.

The winning artwork will be displayed from Dec. 5 through Jan. 5 on the lower level of the airport terminal. First-, second- and third-place winners from kindergarten through sixth grade and seventh through 12th will be announced Dec. 10.

Winning entries are also submitted to the state, national and international levels of the International Aviation Art Contest. Last year’s first-place winner from Anaheim won top honors for his grade level, third place at the state level, second place at the national level and second place in the international competition.

For more information, go to www.ocair.com.