Patty Nilsson

Patty Nilsson, an award-winning digital film instructor at The Guthrie Center, will be honored as one of six Crystal Award winners in education during the annual gala and fund-raising event sponsored by the Spring Branch Education Foundation and the Houston Chronicle. This award recognizes teachers who make a difference for students.

The Crystal Awards Celebration, which began in 1993, will honor six regional educators as “Outstanding Teacher” during a gala celebration that begins at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 29, at the Westin Oaks Hotel. The Houston Chronicle selected winners from more than 1,600 nominations filed by private and public school districts in Harris and seven other Gulf Coast counties.

Patty Nilsson, a University of Houston graduate, has taught more than 10 years in Spring Branch ISD. A co-leader in the award-winning digital film department located at The Guthrie Center, Nilsson has won numerous awards, including SBISD Secondary Teacher of the Year, West Houston Chamber of Commerce Teacher of the Year, and district Career & Technology Teacher of the Year.

In addition, she has earned the Christa McAuliffe Exemplary Teacher and Elizabeth Brand Teacher Excellence recognitions. For the past five years, she has been named an Apple Distinguished Educator.

Patty teaches classes for dual credit through the Houston Community College System and many of her students have earned scholarships through annual competitions, such as the Culture Shapers program competition. For the past six years, she has taken a student team to the Sundance Film Festival, held each winter in Park City, Utah.

Active in district and community affairs, she is also the executive director and a founder of Island Films and the Island Film Festival, a nonprofit group dedicating to promoting the works of young filmmakers and digital media artists. She has also earned numerous grants and awards for her teaching and ongoing projects.

Other Crystal Award winners this year are Dr. Ollie Davis of Houston ISD, Donna Stone and Kathalene Jernigan of Clear Creek ISD, Jane Lamb of Klein ISD and Anne-Marie Zehawi with The Regis School  of the Sacred Heart.

The upcoming Crystal Awards Celebration caps a highly productive period for the Spring Branch Education Foundation (SBEF). Highlights include:

• Last November, SBEF awarded grants totaling $45,000 to the Spring Branch Council of PTAs for student and teacher scholarships and to district campuses for projects ranging from a vegetable garden at Cedar Brook Elementary to a broadcasting studio at Westchester Academy for International Studies, and a learning laboratory at Hunters Creek Elementary;
• Washington Mutual awarded $15,000 to the Foundation so that principals may attend Harvard University’s The Principal Center this summer;
• Bridgeway Charitable Foundation awarded SBEF $20,000 for programs that support the J. Landon Short Mini-Grant Program and $22,000 for programs that align with the district’s goal to be the premier college-focused district in Texas;
• The Foundation’s 12th annual Fall Golf Classic was its most successful, raising $71,000 to benefit students

For more information on the 2008 Crystal Awards Celebration or to buy tickets, call 713-365-4781. This year’s Gala Chairs are Patty and Bruce Busmire.

To learn more about how the Foundation enhances the SBISD education experience for all children, please click here.

Tax-deductible gifts may be made to SBISD through this organization. You may send a check to SBEF, 955 Campbell Road, Suite 206, Houston TX, 77024, or click here to make an electronic donation. Thank you!

posted 02-07-08