GE News
Charlie Hollar Selected to Receive Prestigious George Washington Medal of Honor Award
Great Expectations and
Educators’ Leadership Academy Founder and CEO, Charlie Hollar, is one of seven
individuals in the United States selected to receive the prestigious George
Washington Honor Medal Award. It is the highest award given by the
Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge National Awards Program.
He will be officially presented with this Award on Thursday, November 10, 6:30 p.m. at the Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club and is being sponsored by the Oklahoma Chapter of the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge. This distinguished Award recognizes exceptional individuals who reflect the high ideals of human dignity and the American Spirit.
Hollar will join the historically prestigious group of past George Washington Medal recipients including Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Honorable John Glenn Jr., Walt Disney, John Wayne, Honorable J. Edgar Hoover, Honorable Herbert Hoover, and Honorable John McClellan. The notification letter from Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge President and CEO Aaron Siegel stated, “Your efforts inside and outside of the classroom exemplified the essence of the National Awards by promoting an understanding and appreciation for our country’s rich heritage and unique freedoms.”
The volunteer was nominated by the Freedoms Foundation Oklahoma Chapter for his vision for Great Expectations (GE), which is a well-known comprehensive school reform model. GE is attributed with raising student academic scores and decreasing numbers of discipline referrals and absentees. Cindy Young, 5th grade teacher at Washington Irving Elementary School in Edmond, Oklahoma, reported, “Charlie has done more to transform education than anyone else I have ever known. As a teacher in Edmond, Oklahoma for 30 years, I am proud to be a GE trained teacher.
Oklahoma State Superintendent Sandy Garrett stated, “Charlie approached me in 1990 with an innovative idea that is causing a transformation of education in our state. It is not uncommon to see him visit over 300 classrooms during the year, attend eight weeks of summer institute and never miss a day! It may be the most innovative initiative to improve student achievement that I have seen in public schools in the 30 years I have been in education.”
Ronda Merrifield, Ponca City School principal, stated, “GE gave me the research and the common language to support what I believed and had experienced about educating children. I have seen it transform the climate and culture of three schools. It changes children and teachers alike. Charlie Hollar and the GE program personally inspired me to be a better leader and continually fuel my passion for creating wonderful learning environments for our children.”
Hollar has a history of being a volunteer in his community as well as around the state. His civic activities include serving on the Ponca City School Board, city commission and as chairman for the Ponca City United Way Campaign and the Chamber of Commerce. In 1991, he received the Outstanding Citizens Award from the Ponca City Chamber.
In 1990, Sandy Garrett, Secretary of Education and current State Superintendent, appointed a committee and selected 25 schools to be involved in an education initiative which became Great Expectations. One hundred and seventy five (175) educators attended the first summer institute at Northeastern State University. This number has grown from four to five thousand attendees over the last five years. In addition to the six locations in Oklahoma, summer institute training is now offered in Texas and Missouri. Over 200,000, or one out of every three, students in Oklahoma are taught by a GE summer institute graduate.
The GE teaching/training model has six basic tenets: (1) High Expectations, (2) Teacher Attitude and Responsibility, (3) All Children Can Learn, (4) Building Self-Esteem, (5) Climate of Mutual Respect, and (6) Teacher Knowledge and Skill. GE has been validated by the University of Oklahoma research and has received approval for meeting the rigorous requirements of the President’s No Child Left Behind initiative.
To address leadership needs in education, Hollar founded the Principals’ Academy in 1994. Dr. Leo Presley designed and facilitated the sessions now currently held at NSU. Principals’ Academy was designed to be comparable to mid-level or higher management in corporations.
In 1998, Hollar inaugurated the Educators’ Leadership Academy (ELA). The program is patterned after the Harvard Executive Series and Aspen Institute Leadership training. Dr. Presley continues to be the facilitator. The academies are attended by superintendents of common education, career-tech administrators and administrators in higher education. In 1999 the Outstanding Professors’ academy was added to the ELA program and in 2000 an Outstanding Teachers’ Academy commenced. Effective September 1, 2005, ELA has been embraced and officially joined the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) family as the flagship program in a UCO initiative known as Leadership Central. To date, there have been over 1000 graduates from the ELA program.
Founded in 1949 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Freedoms Foundation’s National Awards Program has honored the exceptional work of many rare individuals. Through a selection process based on quality and content, recipients are chosen to become part of a historically prestigious group of American citizens that advance the American ideal.
Pictured left to right: Ashley Geary, Charlie Hollar, Caleb Webster
Students from Lincoln Elementary School in Ponca City Public Schools
Picture and article submitted by:
Mary Ladd, GE Public Relations Coordinator