2015 Pioneer Award Presented to Ann Stafford-Dillon
The 2015 USMRC Annual Conference was a very special event this year as Ann Stafford-Dillon received the Pioneer Award for her contributions to the field of numeracy. Ann has been a leader in the implementation of Math Recovery® in the United States since 1994. She was instrumental in initiating and developing classroom applications for the Math Recovery® program in the United States and developed the first Math Recovery® teacher kits. She also led the writing and development of Early Childhood and Mathematics Curricula for the School District of Oconee County, South Carolina.
Ann has received numerous professional awards and grants for her outstanding contributions to the Oconee County region and the state of North Carolina for mathematics and leadership. She is an Honorary Fellow (2005) of Southern Cross University, New South Wales, Australia, and received a MED degree from Duke University and a BS in Elementary Education and Mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has co-authored three books on Math Recovery, Teaching Number in the Classroom with 4-8 year olds; Early Numeracy: Assessment for Teaching and Intervention; and Teaching Number: Advancing Children's Skills and Strategies.
Dr. Robert Wright, Mathematics Recovery Developer, has stated "In all three categories of leadership, teaching and service, Ms. Stafford's contribution is singular and exemplary." James R. Martland, International Board Member and Mathematics Recovery Council of UK and Ireland, credits Ann with being a "relentless worker with a clear intention as to how Math Recovery® could help countless disadvantaged and disengaged students."
Lucinda "Petey" MacCarty, a founding member of the US Math Recovery® Council and co-owner of Mountain States Math, presented a timeline of Ann's contributions to the field of numeracy and the Math Recovery® program beginning in 1994. Conference attendees were treated to a very special moment in time in which Petey, Dr. Amy Cook, James Martland, and Dr. Robert Wright all shared special memories of Ann. She was then presented the 2015 Pioneer Award by Dr. Wright.
Many thanks, Ann, for all you have done for making mathematics accessible to countless children and their teachers!
