National honors
New York's 2008 Teacher of the Year Richard Ognibene, at left, with NYSUT officers Maria Neira and Dick Iannuzzi after receiving an NEA Foundation 2009 Horace Mann Award for Teaching Excellence. He also won a $15,000 gift from the Horace Mann Companies at the NEA Foundation's awards gala in Washington, D.C., earlier this month. To see a video paying tribute to this science teacher's work that was created by students and teachers from Fairport High School, go to http://www.jrsheetz.com/pearsonfoundation.