by Juanita I.C. Traughber, communications director
Along with the award, Fifth Grade Teacher Connie Fink has earned a $1,000 honorarium, a trip to a teaching seminar, and new history books for USN’s Hassenfeld Library. In August, Fink was named a top 10 finalist for the National History Teacher of the Year Award, which will be announced this fall.
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History has named Fifth Grade Social Studies Teacher Connie Fink the 2018 Tennessee History Teacher of the Year. She will be honored at the Tennessee Council for History Education summit on Sept. 26, 2018.
In addition to a $1,000 honorarium and an award ceremony, the organization dedicated to K-12 American history education will present the Hassenfeld Library with a core archive of American history books and Gilder Lehrman educational materials. Fink will also receive an invitation to a 2019 Gilder Lehrman Teacher Seminar, a weeklong program that offers teachers daily discussions with eminent historians, visits to historic sites, and hands-on work with primary sources.
“I believe that in order to create a rich learning environment each student's academic, social and emotional needs must be addressed. In order to accomplish this, I realize I must also be a learner; methodically seeking out ways to obtain the knowledge and tools necessary to meet the needs of my students,” Fink wrote in her personal statement. “The ultimate learning community is where we all, teacher and students alike, learn from each other. I am a firm believer that the facilitator of the room should not be the “holder” of all of the knowledge. What motivates me the most in my pursuit to excel as an educator is the energy in the room when my students are actively learning American history.”
Fink joined USN in 2009 and is known for bringing innovative and integrative projects to the classroom and connecting her students with local historians and newsmakers as well as the Tennessee State Library and Archives. In 2017, the Humanities Tennessee Board of Directors unanimously voted to present Middle School Teacher Connie Fink with an Outstanding Educator Award.
Inaugurated in 2004, the History Teacher of the Year Award highlights the crucial importance of history education by honoring exceptional American history teachers from elementary school through high school from each state, Washington, D.C. and U.S. territories. In August, Fink was named a top 10 finalist for the National History Teacher of the Year Award, which will be announced this fall.
Aliza Ahmed '26, Uma Ehrig '26, Victor Peng '26, Ruchika Ramachandran '27, and Yvonne Wang '27 participated in the Asian Educators Alliance conference this year in Atlanta, Georgia.
Anna Brook '30, Claire Yu '30, Clio Cherry-Pulay '29, and Liam Mooney '28 took him the championship during the 4th annual USN Middle School Quiz Bowl Championships. Two teams will travel to Chicago to compete in the National Academic Quiz Tournaments Middle School National Championships on Saturday, May 10.
Cpl. Robert Gibson joined University School of Nashville in November as a School Resource Officer, a certified police officer who is primarily assigned to a school and provides safety and security-related functions, including emergency response, safety training, traffic direction, and patrol functions.
USN Mission: University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.