April 3, 2007 - Five Austin area educators are being recognized for their dedication to Texas children by being named finalists in the 2007 H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards, the state’s largest monetary recognition program for Texas educators. These five educators represent the best in Texas education and stood out from 2,000 state-wide applicants.

The honor was kept a surprise from the educators who learned of their special status when a group of H-E-B representatives visited their classrooms and schools — bearing balloons, a cake, and flowers — and presented each teacher finalist with a $1,000 check for themselves and a $1,000 check for their schools. Each principal finalist received a check for $1,000 and a $2,500 check for their schools. In total, $13,000 was handed out to Austin area educators.  
 
The Austin area finalists are:  
 
• Mary Alice Deike, Principal, W. Charles Akins High School  
• Dr. Linda Webb, Principal, Dorinda Pillow Elementary  
• David Journeay, Teacher, Lyndon B. Johnson High School  
• Debra Hurst, Teacher, Joe Dan Mills Elementary  
• Tammy Phuong, Teacher, McBee Elementary  
 
Mary Alice Deike, W. Charles Akins High School, Austin ISD  
 
 
 
Since Deike became a principal of W. Charles Akins High School five years ago, she has strived to make progress in all academic areas. She does this by setting goals and priorities through a lens of rigor, relationships and relevance that will produce positive results for their student body.  
 
Deike’s vision for her school can be summed up in her quote, “I close my eyes and imagine every ninth grader who entered Akins in August 2003, walking across the stage of the Erwin Center on May 23, 2007, each prepared for and confident about post secondary experiences.” Her vision only has value if it extends beyond her and shared with her entire team collectively which it does.  
 
Deike and her staff’s mission is to “educate every student to be self sufficient, strengthen every student to face challenges of mind and heart, and nurture every student to become a lifelong learner in a diverse world.”  
 
She has received several awards throughout her career such as the Region XIII Principal of the Year for 2001 and was one of four finalists for the state of Texas. She also received an honorary membership in the Texas Association of Future Homemakers of America.  
 
Deike is a finalist in the Secondary Principal category, for principals of middle and high schools. If chosen as a statewide winner at the awards ceremony in Austin on May 7, she will receive $10,000 and a $25,000 school grant.  
 
Dr. Linda Webb, Dorinda Pillow Elementary School, Austin ISD  
 
 
 
As the Dorinda Pillow Elementary School principal for the past six years, Webb works with an extremely diverse population, including 31 different home languages represented, multiple ethnicities and mixed heritages and many versions of what makes a family unit.  
 
“Together we can do anything” is the motto Webb uses when asking the students’ families to trust the school by keeping teachers informed about event in their children’s lives so teachers can assist them. Webb initiated this motto last summer when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She decided to treat this as a valuable learning opportunity.  
 
She created a skit to help students understand cancer and the battle against it. Parents were previously notified and invited to attend. The local media attended as well and ran segments on the television newscasts. As a result, the students discovered a valuable lesson, that together with everyone’s support, we can do anything.  
 
Webb vision for Pillow Elementary is the same as her vision for our diverse world, for people to believe in their own abilities to make a difference and help those around them to achieve at the highest level.  
 
In addition to using faculty to ensure academic success, she also strives to get the parents involved. She hosts Principal Coffees to discuss topics and answers questions that are important to parents.  
 
She also finds time to serve as the adjunct professor in the department of Educational Administration at Texas State University.  
 
Webb is a finalist in the Elementary Principal category, for principals of elementary schools. If chosen as a statewide winner at the awards ceremony in Austin on May 7, she will receive $10,000 and a $25,000 school grant.  
 
David Journeay, Lyndon Baines Johnson High School, Austin ISD  
 
 
 
With a total of 30 years of teaching experience, Journeay currently teaches a variety of courses such as anatomy and physiology, AP biology, medical microbiology and pathophysiology.  
 
Everyday his students attend class in a room that is filled with items from every zoo, museum and interesting lab Journeay has ever visited. This interactive room is a place of unique sights, sounds and smells. “It is a place of ongoing and new experiments. It is a place filled with technology, both new and historical. Most importantly, it is a place to learn, to discover, to question,” said Journeay.  
 
Journeay believes what students learn must relate to them directly. He and his students discuss topics such as diseases that they or someone they love has encountered. They even discuss strange cases on “CSI” or “House,” which pertain to the pathophysiology or microbiology they are covering.  
 
Referred to as to one who always “knows everything,” Journeay’s students use this phrase to describe the great wealth of knowledge regarding the subjects he teaches. “As students, we are keenly aware of the fact that Mr. Journeay is not only knowledgeable but also passionate about the subjects he teaches, and that he enjoys talking about them,” said student Zarine Garcia.  
 
For the past six years, Journeay has held the position as the science department chair. In the summer of 2006 he co-authored the Magnet Biology curriculum LASA. And he as won several awards such at the $1000 award as the teacher sponsor of Intel Science Student semi-finalist and Teacher of Merit given by the Intel Science Talent Search.  
 
Journeay is a finalist in the Lifetime Achievement category, for teachers with more than 20 years of experience in the classroom. If chosen as a statewide winner at the awards ceremony in Austin on May 7, he will receive $25,000 and a $25,000 grant for his school.  
 
Debra Hurst, Joe Dan Mills Elementary School, Austin ISD  
 
 
 
Every year for the last 29 years, on the first day of school, Hurst gets butterflies just by looking at her new faces in her kindergarten class. Hurst measures her success by just how she can make a difference in each child’s life, and tries to instill a true love and passion for learning that will last for the rest of their lives.  
 
Giving back to the community is a common theme in Hurst’s class. They coordinate a yearly service project collecting clothing for disadvantaged children and have adopted a needy family in the neighborhood. The class also donates books to a kindergarten class with low-income students.  
 
Hurst sets up her classroom environment, which guarantees respect, cooperation and effective instruction. She believes this helps the children become successful and empowers them to do their best. “I have started their voyage through life with a love for learning that will indeed help them in all things to do their best. To me, that’s success.”  
 
Hurst has attended conferences for the National Association for the Education of Young Children in Dallas, New Orleans and Atlanta. She has also served as a teacher member on focus groups to design AISD’s pre-k services. She has also been named as one of the DisneyHand Teacher Award Honoree in professional development.  
 
Hurst is a finalist in the Lifetime Achievement category, for teachers with more than 20 years of experience in the classroom. If chosen as a statewide winner at the awards ceremony in Austin on May 7, she will receive $25,000 and a $25,000 grant for her school.  
 
Tammy Phuong, McBee Elementary School, Austin ISD  
 
 
 
Phuong has more than 11 years of experience teaching and developing the minds of our children by connecting them to real experiences and incorporating play, creative dramatics and imagination into all content areas.  
 
Parents are ensured with Phuong’s guidance and by her speech she gives on the first day of school. “They are no longer just your children. I pledge to help them grow to be the best they can be. I will be there to doctor their hurts. I will be there to push them when they need to stretch their limits. I will be there to hold their hand and keep them sage when we go out in the world. They are our children.”  
 
Despite all the time Phuong puts into her reading classes, she has single handily organized school-wide educational activities such as the science fair, mystery fest, measurement Olympics and international fest. All of these programs are hands-on and motivates students and in turn helps students achieve their goals.  
 
She was recognized as the teacher of the year semi-finalist for the district in 2005, has participated in district-wide regional training and has specializations in the teaching of art and reading.  
 
Phuong is a finalist in the Leadership category, for teachers with 10 to 20 years of experience in the classroom. If chosen as a statewide winner at the awards ceremony in Austin on May 7, she will receive $10,000 and a $10,000 grant for her school.  
 
About the H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards:  
 
H-E-B launched the Excellence in Education Awards program in cooperation with the Texas Association of School Administrators in 2002 as a positive way to support public education in Texas. A major goal of the Excellence in Education awards is to make a statement about the great things going on in Texas public schools — to spotlight best practices and to celebrate the work of Texas educators. It has grown to become the largest monetary program for educators in the state.  
 
In order to find the best teachers, principals and districts in Texas, H-E-B began by asking customers, Partners (employees) and community members to submit the names of their favorite educators, administrators and districts. This year H-E-B received more than 7,000 nominations. Each nominee was sent an application packet asking them to share their professional experiences, educational philosophies and achievements both in and out of the classroom.  
 
H-E-B received an estimated 2,000 completed applications which were reviewed by a team of judges. They faced the difficult task of narrowing the field to 223 semi-finalists who then went on to compete in a regional judging process. Five regional judging panels comprised of former winners, administrators, and university and community leaders selected the 39 individual statewide finalists, which included the five Austin finalists. All finalists will be invited to Austin, May 5-7, 2007, to compete on a state-wide level for larger cash prizes totaling more than $500,000.  
 
At a celebratory dinner in Austin on May 7, 10 finalists, after participating in personal interviews before a panel of judges, will be announced as grand-prize winners. These winners will be comprised of two principals, six teachers and two school districts, one large and one small.  
 
Each winning principal—one elementary school and one high school—will each receive $10,000 in cash for themselves and a $25,000 grant for their schools. The winning large school district will receive a $100,000 cash prize and the winning small school district will receive $50,000.  
 
The six winning teachers will include one elementary and one secondary teacher in each of three categories:  
 
• The Rising Star Award — honors exceptionally promising teachers with less than 10 years of experience. These winners will each receive a $5,000 check for themselves and a $5,000 grant for their schools.  
 
• The Leadership Award — honors teachers with 10 to 20 years in the classroom. These winners will each receive a $10,000 check for themselves and a $10,000 grant for their schools.  
 
• The Lifetime Achievement Award — salutes teachers with more than 20 years of experience. These teachers will each receive $25,000 in cash for themselves and a $25,000 grant for their schools.  
 
 
About H-E-B  
 
For more than 100 years, H-E-B has been an innovative retailer. Known for its fresh food, quality products, convenient services, and a commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainability, H-E-B strives to provide the best customer experience at every day low prices. Based in San Antonio, H-E-B employs more than 60,000 Partners and serves millions of customers in more than 150 communities throughout Texas and Mexico.