O'Neill's Bryan Corkle to receive 2012 Christa McAuliffe Prize from UNL

            Bryan Corkle, a science teacher in the O'Neill Public Schools, has been named the winner of the 2012 Christa McAuliffe Prize, awarded by the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

            Corkle will be honored at a March 4 luncheon at the Nebraska East Union in conjunction with an induction ceremony for UNL students entering Pi Lambda Theta, the international honor society in education. Corkle will receive a $1,000 stipend, and his school a $500 stipend from the college. Kathi Mercure, eighth-grade social studies teacher at Lux Middle School in Lincoln, will be honored with a Special Recognition award.

            The McAuliffe Prize was created in 1987 to honor the first teacher-astronaut, Christa McAuliffe of Concord, N.H. McAuliffe was killed in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger on Jan. 28, 1986. Recipients of the prize are teachers who exemplify the character of McAuliffe -- teachers who hold high standards of excellence for themselves and their students; who demonstrate courage, commitment, creativity, and ability to inspire.

            Corkle, who has taught at O'Neill since 2004, has performed the role of advocate for troubled youth in his school, pushing for a mentorship program that matches staff members with students who are struggling, a program that has seen positive results.

            He also supported an O'Neill student who made a 200-mile walk in a cap and gown from O'Neill to Lincoln over the course of five days in 2010 to raise awareness of the plight of undocumented youth in the United States. Corkle worked tirelessly, often alone, to make sure the student's travel was safe and not done in obscurity. The episode was part of his long-term efforts advocating for undocumented students.

            Corkle is also noted for creating use of technology in his classroom, where his students publish a nonfiction science book for the elementary library every year in a joint project with the English department. Eighth-graders under his instruction have produced science documentaries about Newton's laws of motion using random video clips. Corkle has been O'Neill's head wrestling coach for eight years and was named Class B coach of the year in 2009 by the Nebraska Scholastic Wrestling Coaches Association.

Writer: Tom Simons, University Communications, 402-472-8514