RECORDED BOOKS PRESS RELEASE
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Yoder and Beyer Named Plugged-in Teachers of the Month

Prince Frederick, MD – May 7, 2009 – Recorded Books, publisher of Dr. Janet Allen’s Plugged-in to Reading and Plugged-in to Nonfiction, recently announced its first two Plugged-in Teachers of the Month, Brent Yoder and Amy Beyer of South Bend, Indiana. Each month, educators will be featured as the Teachers of the Month at the Plugged-in Educators’ Ning at http://pluggedineducators.ning.com. Yoder and Beyer, the first educators chosen for this new monthly feature, will host discussions, answer questions, and share experiences about Plugged-in programs and literacy during the month of May.

Yoder and Beyer were chosen as Plugged-in Teachers of the Month because of their great success promoting literacy in their classrooms. “Brent and Amy are wonderful teachers and we’re glad to have them as part of the Plugged-in family,” Beth Eaton, marketing manager for Plugged-in Products said. Yoder is encouraged by how Plugged-in has motivated his at-risk students: “Struggling readers? Maybe, but they are engaged and willing to take risks. It’s wonderful to see the change in them from the beginning of the year.” Beyer loves using Plugged-in with struggling readers, citing how her students “talk about The Skin I’m In all year long! The Lottery Rose encourages the students to discuss personal issues. They inspire students to read other books by the author during their independent reading time.”

Yoder has been using Plugged-in to Reading with his 8th graders at Jackson Intermediate Center for two years and has become a respected team leader. He works with Explorers, an intensive program focusing on helping at-risk students achieve success. For both the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school years, Yoder was chosen by his peers as Jackson Intermediate Center teacher of the year. Beyer used Plugged-in to Reading in her 7th grade classroom from 2006-2008 and was named 2006-07 teacher of the year at Jackson Intermediate Center. This year she accepted a position as 5th grade curriculum leader at Dickinson Fine Arts Academy, where she is in charge of identifying students who need additional literacy support. Beyer was recently named 2008-09 Teacher of the Year at Dickinson Fine Arts Academy. Both Yoder and Beyer are also South Bend Community School Corporation Top Ten Teachers for 2008-09.

To follow Yoder and Beyer during their time as Plugged-in Teachers of the Month and find out more about the Plugged-in Programs, visit http://pluggedineducators.ning.com/ and http://www.pluggedintononfiction.com.