Focus on TUSD - November 2006

Gallagher Nominated for Faculty Award
Santa Rita High School's Charles "Chuck" Gallagher is a nominee for the 2006-2007 Outstanding High School Faculty Awards program. Sponsored by the University of Arizona Athletic Department, the Circle K Corp. and KOLD Channel 13, the program recognizes innovative teaching practices, leadership and community involvement.

Gallagher has been a public school teacher for 22 years. He teaches building technology and drafting at Santa Rita High School, and his students have been building Habitat for Humanity houses for 10 years. "The students take his word seriously and proceed not as students but as apprentices. Students literally learn building a home from the ground up and students who complete the program ultimately build a house for Habitat for Humanity," said Jonathan K. Hanson, Santa Rita principal.

In July, Gallagher was named Teacher of the Year by the Association for Career Technical Education of Arizona at its annual conference. Gallagher was nominated for that statewide honor by Kathy Prather, TUSD director of Career & Technical Education.

In her nomination, Prather said, "Chuck is fully deserving of being honored as the ACTEAZ Career and Technical Education Teacher of the Year because of his unwavering and continued commitment (12 years and counting) to students, community, CTE and ACTEAZ."

Gallagher sets his curriculum to meet the state standards and sets up his construction classes to simulate a business setting, with his students running the class. "One student is the foreman for two weeks, supervising the construction of the Habitat house and grading the students. Chuck grades the foreman and guides the foreman through the process," said Prather.

Gallagher has a master's degree in vocational education from Northern Arizona University. He participates in the ACTEAZ Fellows Program, and is active in the national career and technical education association.

Gallagher heads TUSD's Construction and Design Technology Business Advisory Committee and he's a member of Santa Rita's Instruction Council. He has built partnerships with Home Depot and the Southern Arizona Homebuilders Association, and he also developed a program where his students put on yearly construction careers events for elementary school students.

In 2002, Gallagher's community service activities won national recognition from Channel 1 News, a school news program.