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Pine View School language arts teacher Fran Squires has been named the 2014 Outstanding Middle Level Educator in the English Language Arts by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), the Sarasota County School District has announced. "NCTE is a 35,000-member organization dedi- cated to improving the teaching and learning of English language arts at all levels," a news release says. The organization's announcement of the honor said the award recognizes "exceptional English language arts teachers" working with students in grades six to eight who have demonstrated excellence in teaching "and inspired a spirit of inquiry and a love of learn- ing in their students." Squires teaches sixth-grade gifted and advanced-level English language arts, the release notes. Because Pine View is a school for gifted students, its sixth-grade curricu- lum covers material students in other district schools normally would study in the seventh grade, the release points out. To help her students develop into accom- plished readers and writers, "Squires sets high expectations, provides an environment rich in literary materials and encourages creative writing and portfolio building," the release says. Many of her students have been recog- nized in state and national writing contests. Further, Squires has written grants to fund a number of innovative programs and projects, including the Pine View student literary mag- azine Portable Prose and Poetry, the release adds. She also secured the funding for an economics project titled The Ugly Mug, in which students packed chocolate cake ingre- dients into recycled coffee mugs, the release notes. Squires also served for several years as a teacher advisor for SCOPE magazine, the national literary publication of the Scholastic Corp., the release continues. The NCTE award is gratifying because it is an endorsement of her work by her peers, Squires said in the release. "I am personally thrilled to win this award after a long career in education," she added. More information about NCTE is available on its website. % PINE VIEW TEACHER RECEIVES NATIONAL RECOGNITION Fran Squires/Contributed photo Sarasota News Leader July 4, 2014 Page 103