Shauna McCranie Named Outstanding Teacher

Congratulations to NAPS Board member and Northumberland County Schools Talented and Gifted Coordinator, Shauna McCranie, for being named Region III Virginia Association for the Gifted Outstanding Teacher for 2018. McCranie works with students in the TAG program at all grade levels in Northumberland County schools.

This is McCranie’s fourth year as TAG coordinator and during that time she has led students in a variety of educational projects, many of them in conjunction with NAPS. Her sixth grade group of problem solvers are currently working on a solar energy project and have presented a proposal to the school board for incorporating solar energy into the elementary school’s roof renovation and perhaps on the high/middle school campus (see article on pg. 6). Other students are preparing to compete in SeaPerch, a national competition of underwater robotics teams. Previous students in this program were finalists at the national level. A 7th grade group is in the process of studying “Northumberland Natural Disasters.” Last year, the middle-school problem solvers group completed a courtyard beautification project with the help of several community businesses and organizations.

Before becoming TAG coordinator at Northumberland schools, McCranie was an art teacher at several schools in the region. In her three years on the NAPS board, McCranie has partnered with the organization to provide funding for the students’ projects and has served on the NAPS scholarship committee which helps several Northumberland county students each year continue their studies after graduation. McCranie has also helped organize many other NAPS events, including the fall creek clean-up, the annual Earth Day event, Boots and Barbeque, and the NAPS Special Program & Annual Meeting coming up in February.

McCranie said, “I really enjoy the Community Problem Solving groups I coach, it helps students make a difference doing real world applications like beautifying the schools courtyards, participating in shoreline clean-ups, and working with our local animal shelters. The students of today will have many problems to solve in the future and this opportunity gives them the tools and out-of-the box thinking skills to think critically about the world around them.”