Debra Howell

Monte Cristo Elementary multiage teacher Debra Howell has been selected as the Washington State Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Elementary Teacher of the Year.

First selected as one of nine finalists in the state, Howell will receive the state award January 21 at the VFW convention in Yakima. Howell was selected because of her long-standing model of teaching citizenship and patriotism and continued support of all veterans.

A teacher in the Granite Falls School District since 1984, Howell is well known for her involvement and support of veterans. Over the years, Howell and her students have organized Veterans Day parades, shipped hundreds of boxes of supplies—anything from gum to playing cards—to veterans serving overseas, and participated in American Legion events.

Her multiage classes have maintained contact with many veterans as “pen pals” and she regularly invites veterans into the classroom to interact with students. She has been instrumental in planning many of the school’s Veterans Day assemblies and most recently involved her students in obtaining and raising the POW/MIA flag at the school.

 Howell is a past winner of the George Washington Honor Medal, a national award designed to honor people who have an understanding and appreciation of responsible citizenship, was the first teacher in the Granite Falls School District to earn her National Board Certification, and is a 2011 National Teacher Hall of Fame Inductee.
Howell is now eligible for the national VFW award.