www.roanoke.com

Susan Kern, a beloved teacher at Roanoke County's Back Creek Elementary, died earlier this month following a battle with breast cancer. She was 60.

Karen Mabry, the school's principal, said she was able to share a bit of good news as Kern lay in a hospital bed: Kern had been chosen to receive a classroom scholarship from the county's education foundation.

The Roanoke County Public Schools Education Foundation last week awarded 70 grants totaling more than $20,000 to teachers across the county. The scholarships are funded by general donations and corporate sponsorships during the foundation's annual golf tournament.

Kern applied in November for funds to purchase books featuring the character Skippyjon Jones to integrate Spanish into her first-grade classroom. Nancy Moss, a reading specialist at the school and friend of Kern, accepted the award in Kern's honor.

Moss will help carry out Kern's vision for the project she named "Un Poquito Espanol Para Back Creekito." Kern was fluent in Spanish and also taught English as a Second Language. Mabry said Kern had one Hispanic student this year in her small first-grade class.

"She was particularly engaged in helping him acclimate and helping the other students embrace his culture," Mabry said.

In the scholarship application, Kern wrote: "If my students form an emotional attachment to this character and future books by Judy Schachner, I will count this a success. If my students integrate the Spanish vocabulary into their conversation, I will rejoice."

Other elementary school classroom scholarship recipients include:

n Bonsack: Joyce Francisco, Nancy Long, Kathleen Lunsford, Marianne Nester and Melissa Peroulas.

n Burlington: Amy Crawford and Jennifer Woods.

n Cave Spring: Stephanie Fisher and Stephanie Tribble.

n Clearbrook: Nichole Bell, Abby Hudson and Donna Williams.

n Fort Lewis: Barbara Hale, Sherry Meridith and Kyndal Smith.

n Glen Cove: Kathy Harrison and Sharon Tarpley-Looney.

n Glenvar: Jessica Akers, Kim Clapper and Ellen Griffith.

n Green Valley: Leigh-Anne Williams.

n Herman L. Horn: Elizabeth Cannaday, Jenny Copening, Gail Holbrook, Betty Jay, Debra Lester, Amanda Lusk, Betsey Miles, Jill Mooney, Sarah Stultz and Janice Wymer.

n Mason's Cove: Brenda Agee, Buddy Hansbarger, Leisa Sarra and Linda Wingfield.

n Mount Pleasant: Allison Angell.

n Mountain View: Karen Fabrie.

n Oak Grove: Laura Allen, Fara Blankenship, Gloria Howell, Linda Ramsey, Tim Summers and Lucy Wiggington.

n Penn Forest: Cynthia Jones.

n W.E. Cundiff: Bill Hughes.

Visit www.supportroanokecountyed.org for a list of winning middle and high school teachers.