EL PASO, TEXAS -- Yushica Walker, wife of Maj. Johnnie R. Walker of the TRAC WF (Training and Doctrine Command Analysis Center White Sands Missile Range Forward) office at Fort Bliss, Texas, was recently named the top secondary teacher of 2008-2009 for her school district, according to a news release from the El Paso Independent School District (EPISD).
Mrs. Walker was one of 36 secondary school finalists who had been nominated by their schools to represent them in district competition. She was selected to represent Morehead Middle School, where she has taught science for the past two years; she has been a teacher for more than 12 years. Mrs. Walker and her husband are both graduates of Prairie View A & M University in Texas. Mrs. Walker earned her degree in 1996 in Interdisciplinary Studies with a reading specialization. She also holds a master's degree in Education/Administration and Supervision from the University of Phoenix.
Announcement of the winners for secondary and elementary Teacher of the Year was made at a dinner banquet and ceremony, which also marked 125 years since the EPISD, then called the El Paso Public Schools, first began teaching students. Among the more than 400 attending the banquet were keynote speaker Nolan Richardson, El Paso Mayor John Cook and Fort Bliss Commanding General Maj. Gen. Howard B. Bromberg, who was visibly pleased when he heard that one of the winners was an Army spouse. According to records, Director of Special Projects in the EPISD Office of Public Relations Margaret Gallardo said, "She is the only one in the 25-year history of the Teacher of the Year Program in the El Paso Independent School District."
"Thank you, thank you," exclaimed Mrs. Walker upon the announcement of her selection. "I am so happy and proud. What a wonderful honor!" In addition to bragging rights, she received a plaque and $750 check for being one of 10 finalists and special EPISD gifts and gift packets from several local businesses, as well as an additional $750 check for being the winner in her category.
According to the EPISD release, judges included Mrs. Walker's "peers, former Teachers of the Year and respected community representatives," who had a "daunting task" of selecting the winners. The winners will now advance to the Region 19 competition, and regional winners will compete at the state level.
Maj. Walker was also in attendance at the banquet to support his wife. Also excited about her selection, he said, "To me, her achievement epitomizes the spirit of the Army spouse. I am extremely proud of her accomplishment and ecstatic that her students, peers and administrators see and recognize the same intrinsic qualities and characteristics that I see and have seen in her for the past 16 years. Additionally, after several Permanent Change of Station moves, it is great that her career is finally getting the center stage spotlight and I fully support her."
Maj. Walker is a military analyst for TRAC WF, an organization that directly supports the Future Force Integration Directorate in its mission of integrating parts of the Army Brigade Combat Team Modernization, the Army's most extensive modernization program in four decades.
The ABCTM program is a joint networked system that includes the individual soldier, 14 individual systems and the network. It employs advanced communications equipment and technologies to link Soldiers with both manned and unmanned ground and air platforms and sensors.
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