South Dakota Board of Education 
For more information: Janelle Toman, (605) 773-5232

(Pierre)-- South Dakota's Teacher of the Year has earned recognition from corporate and private sponsors. Jeffrey Lukens, a Sioux Falls Roosevelt High School science teacher and the state's 2002 Teacher of the Year, received items donated by several companies and organizations.

"We are pleased with this tremendous support for the Teacher of the Year program," said Glenna Fouberg, Aberdeen, president of the South Dakota Board of Education and the 1994 South Dakota Teacher of the Year. "These awards enhance the special status associated with being South Dakota's Teacher of the Year."

Lukens received the following items as the 2002 Teacher of the Year:

• • $5,000 cash award from the South Dakota Community Foundation, Pierre, and Citibank, Sioux Falls.

"The South Dakota Community Foundation/Citibank partnership seeks to improve educational opportunities for South Dakota’s young people," said Bernie Christenson, the foundation’s executive director. "Jeffrey Lukens is a dedicated educator who cares very much about those he teaches, both in and outside the classroom. We are privileged to recognize his commitment to education and to young people with this honorarium."

• • $7,000 technology package from the SMARTer Kids Foundation, Calgary, Alberta.

The high-tech equipment package includes an interactive whiteboard and floor stand from SMART Technologies Inc., a lightweight projector from the Visual Systems Division of NEC Technologies, and a portable keyboard from AlphaSmart Inc. For more information about this package, visit the Web site at www.smarterkids.org.

• • $1,000 honorarium for the Teacher of the Year to present a series of professional development seminars, provided by the South Dakota Board of Regents.

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