Jason Griffith is the fifteenth recipient of the Edwin A. Hoey Award for Outstanding Educator in the English Language Arts which recognizes exceptional English language arts teachers of grades 5-8 who have demonstrated excellence in teaching English language arts and inspired a spirit of inquiry and a love of learning in their students.
The Edwin A. Hoey Award, cosponsored by the Weekly Reader Corporation, honors Edwin A. (Ted) Hoey, who brought limitless imagination and creativity to the pages of READ magazine during his nearly forty-year career as writer, editor, and managing editor of the renowned literature and language arts classroom periodical. Hoey's efforts enriched the work of both countless middle level teachers of English language arts and the lives of their students.
Jason is an eighth-grade English language arts teacher at Lamberton Middle School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He has taught for the past nine years in addition to being a coach to the middle school cross country and high school swim teams. He earned his National Board Teaching Certification in November 2011, specializing in Early Adolescent/English Language Arts. As a National Writing Project (Capital Area Writing Project) Fellow, Jason conducts professional development sessions with teachers throughout his school, district, and state. He is a member of NCTE’s Assembly for Computers in Education (ACE) and regularly facilitates sessions about utilizing computer technology in writing for his district and across the state. Providing publishing opportunities for students is important to Jason, as evidenced by his work as cofounder of a schoolwide literacy magazine and point person for the Scholastic Writing Contest.
Jason’s creative approach to his classroom teaching is demonstrated with such examples as a songwriting unit which focuses on the elements of poetry and culminates with student performances of original songs; the use of technology with persuasive essays debated by students through an online blog; and a short story unit where students analyze stories, create scripts, and produce short films that are shared at a film festival.
"Not only does identity factor into writing, but also into reading; it's important that students know that their opinions and experience matter when responding to literature."
Read more about Jason through his award narrative. 
Join us for the Hoey Award celebration at the Middle Level Luncheon on Friday, November 16, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada during the NCTE Annual Convention.