Harbinger adviser finalist for Teacher of the Year

Over eight years he has turned East’s journalism program around from unknown to national award winner, and now journalism teacher Dow Tate has been proclaimed a Region 3 finalist in the Kansas Teacher of the Year competition.

The announcement, made Sunday by former Teacher of the Year Karen Tritt, puts Tate in among eight Regional Finalists in Kansas. Two finalists were selected from each of four regions by The Kansas State Department of Education from an original list of 90 teachers.

For his regional placement, Tate has the opportunity to become the Kansas Teacher of the Year, and has already been awarded $2,000 in cash from Security Benefit.

Region 3 represents the 3rd congressional district, which includes Johnson, Wyandotte, and Douglas Counties.

Since the time he became advisor of the Harbinger and Hauberk in 2002, Tate has led the two publications with great success, both receiving eight Pacemaker awards, and two editors being named National Highschool Journalist of the Year.

“[I] just needed to reestablish how much work and polish we needed.” Tate said. “I let the reader judge [quality].”

Tate was named both the 1997 Dow Jones Newspaper Fund National Journalism Teacher of the Year and Texas’s Max Haddick Teacher of the Year. He’s also co-authoring the 10th edition of “Scholastic Journalism.”