Meryl Preston, a reading teacher from Boynton Beach Community High School, is the recipient of a Margot Stern Strom Teaching Award.
The award comes at a good time, considering Preston is officially retired as of Aug. 1, after 31 years teaching. Her last three years were in Boynton.
The $350 grant will be used to purchase Facing History and Ourselves materials for her students.
Eileen Shapiro, coordinator of the Holocaust Studies of Palm Beach County, said the Facing History program teaches students about the past.
“They learn about the past so they can promote a better present and greater tomorrow,” Shapiro said. “Preston has done a wonderful job for many years and promotes the lessons by teaching them.”
Preston promoted tolerance and acceptance in her students by integrating literature circles in her intensive reading classes that she had at Boynton Beach Community High School.
She said she hopes to promote a love of literature through the study of human rights in various areas of the world.
Preston said she used the $350 to purchase a class set of Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario, a book about an immigrant from Honduras and his journey in the United States.
Even with her retirement, the books will be read in other reading classes at Boynton High to keep the Facing History program continuing.
“When we read Enrique’s Journey, the kids kept journals of their own journey,” Preston said. “They learned about others and got a better understanding of other cultures.”
Preston said the program has been around for decades, since she started using it in Lake Worth 12 years ago. She said she actually flew to Boston with others to learn about the backbone of the program.
The program uses the Holocaust as a jumping off point for education about the past.
“With the Holocaust, the kids can relate to the information,” she said.
For more information, call Eileen Shapiro in Holocaust Studies at 561-434-8169.
Mike Rothman can be reached at mkrothman@tribune.com.