Frieda J. Riley Award
The Freida J. Riley Teacher Award was presented to an American teacher who worked with a physical disability, taught in an especially challenging educational environment, or performed a heroic act by making an exceptional, personal or physical sacrifice on behalf of students.
The award was named after Freida J. Riley a math, chemistry and physics teacher during the early space race era of the 1950s and early 1960s at Big Creek High School in Coalwood, West Virginia. While battling Hodgkin’s disease, she inspired her students to overcome the limited opportunities of their environment and aspire to fulfill their dreams. Miss Riley died at age 31.
Miss Riley had a tremendous influence on her students from McDowell County, West Virginia–Homer Hickam, Jimmy Carroll, Roy Lee Cooke, Willie Rose and Quentin Wilson–whose lives and their desire to launch rockets were depicted in the novel the Rocket Boys, written by Homer Hickam, and the subsequent 1999 feature film October Sky.
Here is a partial list of past recipients.
Alan Bronstein Central High School Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The recipient of the Tenth Annual Freida J. Riley Teacher Award is Alan Bronstein, Chemistry teacher at Central High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The award is sponsored by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation in partnership with the West Virginia Freida J. Riley Teacher Award Committee, Harrison County, West […]
Teresa E. Loving S.O.A.R. Academy Spartanburg, South Carolina Teresa E. Loving is a special education teacher and founder of S.O.A.R. Academy in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The award is sponsored by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation, in cooperation with the YWCA of Harrison County, West Virginia. Teresa grew up struggling in school as the result of […]
Joanne B. Tindall W.F. Tallman School Nashville, Tennessee The recipient of the eighth annual Freida J. Riley Teacher Award is Joanne B. Tindall, a teaching principal at the W.F. Tallman School, Nashville Transition Center, for the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, Nashville, Tennessee. The award is sponsored by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation. The award […]
James C. Hughes Farmingdale High School Farmingdale, NY The recipient of the seventh annual Freida J. Riley Teacher Award is James C. Hughes, an 11th grade teacher of United States History, Humanities 11 and Advanced Placement U.S. History at Farmingdale High School, Farmingdale, NY. Blind since the age of three from a hereditary form of […]
Vickie Boutiette Westside Elementary School West Fargo, North Dakota Vickie Boutiette is the recipient of the sixth annual Freida J. Riley Teacher Award sponsored by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation and the Partnership for America’s Future, Inc. Mrs. Boutiette received the award at a luncheon in Clarksburg, West Virginia on May 3, 2005. Vickie is […]
Pam Courtney Hubert H. Bancroft Elementary School Sacramento, California The recipient of the 2004 Freida J. Riley Teacher Award was Pam Courtney, a full-time PE teacher at Hubert H. Bancroft Elementary School in Sacramento, California. She teaches students from grades 1-6, including those in the Special Education program. The award was presented to Ms. Courtney […]
Victor Hakopian Jean Parker Elementary School San Francisco, California The recipient of the 4th annual $10,000 Freida J. Riley Teacher Award was Victor Hakopian, a special education teacher at Jean Parker Elementary School in San Francisco, California. Mr. Hakopian received the award at the Opening Ceremony for Space Day 2003 at the Smithsonian’s National Air […]
Amy Dunaway-Haney Kettering Fairmont High School Kettering, Ohio The recipient of the 2002 $10,000 Freida J. Riley Teacher Award was Amy Dunaway-Haney, a Spanish teacher at Kettering Fairmont High School, Kettering, Ohio. Mrs. Dunaway-Haney received the award in May at the Opening Ceremony for Space Day 2002 at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum […]
Robert A. Ferguson Whitney Middle School Tulsa, Oklahoma Robert A. Ferguson, the first recipient of the Freida J. Riley Teacher Award, is a special education teacher at Whitney Middle School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Award was presented in May at the Opening Ceremony for Space Day 2000 at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum […]
