Jill Allan has been known to sing a jingle to the tune of "Pop Goes the Weasel" to help her students remember the quadratic formula.

Now the Rodel Foundation of Arizona is singing her praises, along with the those of a primary teacher from Puente de Hozho magnet school.

Allan, a long-time math teacher at Mount Elden Middle School, and Pam White-Hanson, who specializes in Navajo instruction for second- and third-graders at Puente, have been named Rodel's Exemplary Teachers for 2010 in Flagstaff.

Rodel CEO Carol Peck said all four local finalists for the title, which is also offered in Maricopa and Pima counties, were strong in unique ways with varied backgrounds.

Rodel Exemplary Teachers have a consistent track record of high student achievement — measured by standardized test scores — and a recommendation from their principals. They must teach at low-income schools.

Peck said whether a student attends an inner-city school — more common in Phoenix and Tucson — or a needy rural school, they have the same needs and their strongest teachers have the same drives.

"They have high expectations for their students and they refuse to give up on them," she said. "They refuse to give up on them, whether it's a rural school or an urban school."

JILL ALLAN

Allan earned her education degree from Northern Arizona University and has been at MEMS, just north of Sunnyside, for 23 years. Even before she was hired full-time, she substituted throughout the district.

She said she uses similar strategies for all levels of students, drawing on her background with special education and English language learners. Allan said she finds there just isn't always enough time in the day, but she tries. She said she is the first to arrive and the last to leave, and she eats her lunch at her desk.

Rodney Johnson, MEMS principal, agreed that Allan is easy to find. At 5:30 or 6 p.m., the lights are often still burning in her classroom.

She also devours student achievement data, as a math teacher might be wont to do, and has been active in district curricular planning and using new technology. For example, she nabbed a grant to put a "SmartBoard" interactive whiteboard in her classroom years before the district made them available for all teachers.

This year, Allan teaches pre-algebra and algebra, but she has extensive experience with adolescents with disabilities.

"I think the background in special education has really enabled her to reach all her students," Johnson said. "I think she really strives to do that."

PAM WHITE-HANSON

Pam White-Hanson teaches second and third-graders in the Navajo track at Puente de Hozho Elementary, a magnet school next door to MEMS that offers bilingual Navajo-English and Spanish-English programs.

Hailing from Kayenta, she speaks Navajo as her native tongue and has a master's degree in bilingual education. But it's not enough to read, write and speak Navajo fluently — conversational Navajo doesn't have the same academic vocabulary, which in English or other common modern languages like Spanish is well-established. So White-Hanson often comes up with it basically on the fly, finding little help in existing academic materials and curricular guides.

Puente principal Dawn Trubakoff said White-Hanson does this tirelessly, quickly and admirably. She maintains a Web page with audio sideshows that let students and parents hear her sound out words, using relatively simple technology to appeal to all ages.

Trubakoff said White-Hanson is gifted at engaging students, earning their parents' trust and showing them a positive Native role model

White-Hanson has felt the love. She recalled one girl, now one of her students, approach her when she was just a kindergartner. The girl was already looking forward to being in her class, and had fashioned a bracelet out of thread and a button that she wrapped in shiny paper. White-Hanson still has the bracelet.

"I like to think of it as a gift of anticipation," she said.

A SAVINGS BOND AND 6 STUDENT TEACHERS

The Rodel Foundation selects Exemplary Teachers in Coconino, Maricopa and Pima counties. The program started in 2003 in the Phoenix area, and expanded to the Flagstaff area two years ago when NAU put together enough grant monies to place its education majors alongside the winning teachers in the Rodel Promising Student Teachers program.

The title comes with six handpicked student teachers — one per semester for three years, starting next fall — and $10,000 savings bonds. Peck said she is excited to pair a Native student teacher with White-Hanson and a middle school candidate with Allan.

Laurie Jeffers, who teaches upper grades at South Beaver, and Kathy Fox, who teaches sixth grade at Kinsey, were runners-up.

Peck and Don Budinger, founder of the Rodel Foundations, will honor all four teachers at their schools on Friday, weather permitting.

The Rodel Foundation is focused on improving public K-12 education throughout Arizona. To learn more about the foundation and its other education initiatives, go to www.rodelfoundationaz.org.

Hillary Davis can be reached at hdavis@azdailysun.com or 556-2261.

Rodel Exemplary Teachers in Coconino County

2010:

Jill Allan, Mount Elden Middle

Pam White-Hanson, Puente de Hozho Elementary

*Kathy Fox, Kinsey Elementary

*Laurie Jeffers, South Beaver Elementary

2009:

Patricia Moreno, South Beaver Elementary

Stacey Wirth, Thomas Elementary

*Debbie Barnard, Kinsey Elementary

*Barbara Campbell, Christensen Elementary

2008:

Kamalene Nelson, Thomas Elementary

Sheryl Wells, Killip Elementary

*Mike Laird, Christensen Elementary

*Patricia Moreno, South Beaver Elementary

*finalist