Key player: Amy Maynard

TITLE: Third-grade teacher at Peyton Elementary.

HOMETOWN: Huntington.

HIGH SCHOOL: Huntington East High School.

COLLEGE/DEGREES: bachelor's and master's degrees from Marshall University.

ADDITIONAL TRAINING: Member of Cabell County's Leadership Team for 21st Century Learning in which she has had many opportunities to be involved in technology training, for example iPods in the classroom, webinars, wiki's and educational blogs. Also a part of Peyton's leadership team in which she is involved in numerous trainings on data collection and strategies on closing the achievement gap. Certified trainer for Ruby Payne's aha! A Framework for Understanding Poverty, extensive training in Understanding by Design Lessons, digital photography, digital video, Web page design and training from the Intel @ Corporation. Also is Peyton's faculty senate president as well as its PTA's treasurer and an executive board member for Cabell County Reading Council. Teaches at Marshall in the Special Education Department as part-time faculty.

MENTORS: Jenny Walton, Teresa Eakle.

AWARDS: 2006-07 Cabell County Teacher of the Year and top 10 finalist for West Virginia Teacher of the Year.

FAMILY: Married for 10 years to Clyde Maynard and have a 7-year-old son, Nikolas. Actively involved as a volunteer coach for the many sports Nikolas participates in through the YMCA.

OUTSTANDING QUALITIES: Willingness to help others, building relationships, leadership, problem solving, listening, volunteering in my community.

FAVORITE WEB SITE: www.howstuffworks. com and www.thefutureschannel.com.

FAVORITE BOOK: "Turnabout Children" by Mary MacCracken.

WHAT YOU DO IN THE CLASSROOM TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE: "In order to make a difference in the lives of my students, I work very hard to build relationships and listen to each of my students needs. I strive to develop a strong relationship with each of them and their families.

"I believe through my efforts to relate I can not only educate them on their curriculum but teach them skills to be lifelong learners. I try and incorporate technology in my daily lessons to make learning more engaging for each child. Today's learners have been exposed to technology and video games from an early age and have a great deal of skills because of this.

"If we as educators can find a way to incorporate this type of learning activities in our classroom, we will reach more children and develop better skills. I am honored to be teaching at Peyton and giving back to a community that I grew up in."