Biography
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According to Dr. Thomas Lickona, author of Educating for Character, Sharon Banas is a "ball of fire" whose dedicated leadership has been instrumental in the development of a values education program in the Sweet Home Central School District. Dolores Serrio, a president of the Sweet Home District P.T.A. states that, "Parents want their children to be good people and we want our children to do well in school. Our school district values education program, led by Sharon Banas, has become a means for parents, teachers, and people who interact with our children to achieve these goals. Sharon's enthusiasm and energy as chairperson of Sweet Home's Values Education Council, have been infectious and the impact of her efforts is remarkable." Craig Allwes, principal of Sweet Home Middle School, where Sharon has taught for more than 25 years describes her as, "a caring individual, who always puts the needs of the students at the top of her list. She serves as an excellent example of what being a superior educator is all about." In 1989, Sharon led the Sweet Home District, located outside of Buffalo, N.Y., in the development of a K-12 Values Education Program that is truly a collaborative effort involving administrators, teachers, members of the board of education, secretaries, custodians, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, parents and students. Due to the widespread interest and expansion of the values program, Sharon became district coordinator in 1990, and led a group of council representatives in the development and publication of a K-12 Values Education Handbook. Sharon has conducted workshops for administrators, teachers and parents in many districts in New York State. She has also been a panelist and presenter at state and national conferences. In addition to answering thousands of requests by mail and telephone and hosting visitations, Sharon has also presented seminars at colleges for future educators. The Sweet Home District Values Education Program has been featured in Special Report,The New York Times,The Philadelphia Inquirer,Ethics Magazine, the newsletter Character,The Journal of Staff Development, Better Homes and Gardens, and Dr. Lickona's 1991 book,Educating for Character. Sharon Misener Banas received her bachelor's and master's degrees in education from the state University of New York College at Buffalo and did her post-graduate work in curriculum development and administration at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Sharon is the proud mother of a daughter, Nadine, born in 1976, and a son, Joslyn, born in 1978. She still enjoys teaching social studies at The Sweet Home Middle School. From 1984 until 1990, she assisted students entering the National History Day Contest. Fifteen of her students became state and national champions. In October, 1991, The Western New York District P.T.A. named her their "Educator of the Year." In 1996, Sharon authored a chapter in a book published by The Character Development Group entitled, Promising Practices in Character Education. Sharon Banas was a member of the 1992 Aspen Summit hosted by The Josephson Institute of Ethics. She attended the planning sessions for the National Character Education Partnership in Washington, D.C. and served on a panel at the second "Improving America's School Conference," hosted by the U.S. Department of Education. In 1996, she attended the White House Conference on Character Education. In 1995, 1996, and 1998, she conducted workshops at the summer institutes for the Center for the 4th and 5th R's and in 1997 and 1998, she presented at teacher academies hosted by The Georgia Humanities Council and worked with six school districts in California. |