Carolina Alumni Review - November/December 2010

Student Representative
Award-winning teacher
makes sure all students
have a fair shot at success

Cindy Rudolph ’ 86 regularly holds square dances and
story times in her high school classes. But she’s not a
drama, music or language arts teacher. Her subject is biolo-
gy. To Rudolph, there is no better way to teach about cell
division than the “mitosis square dance” or to learn genet-
ics than by reading tales of “King DNA.”
“It’s just the way my brain works,” Rudolph says about
what inspired her to dance and write sing-along lesson
plans. “I’m goofy, silly. I’m a lot like my kids.”
Others see that goofiness as innovation. In October 2009,
Rudolph was awarded a Milken Educator Award, recogniz-
ing extraordinary teachers. She was one of 50 award winners
nationwide given $25,000, no strings attached.

Milken recipients are announced at surprise assemblies, held at each school and attended by a flock of state representatives and the media. At Rudolph’s Hopewell High School, the marching band and cheerleading team propelled the assembly to a frenetic level of excitement and gossip. “Rumors circulated about Oprah or Obama coming,” says Rudolph. Few knew why the assembly was really called.

When her name was announced and the $25,000 check
presented, Rudolph says she slumped onto her friend and
felt faint. She thanked her school and the many hardworking
teachers who put in long hours every day. “There are lots of
people who deserve it just as much,” Rudolph says. “I don’t
know why they picked me.”
But Cindy Moss ’ 81, a former Milken award winner and
now the director of science, technology, engineering and math
education for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, where
Rudolph teaches, has an inkling. “She’s a person who’s pas-
sionate about providing opportunities for all kinds of stu-
dents,” Moss says. “She’s extremely confident in science con-
tent but extremely innovative in pedagogy.”
Rudolph has had her share of classroom challenges. She
teaches honors classes but also has co-taught classes with a
special-education teacher for students with attention deficit
disorder, histories of suspension or failing grades, or physical
disabilities. To graduate, all of her students, regardless of per-
sonal challenges, must pass the same standardized biology test
by the end of high school.

“The biggest gift that I can give a child is [the ability] to
take that test and pass it on their own without help from
anybody,” Rudolph says. “That is huge.”
Test results reveal the success of her unconventional
methods. One hundred percent of the students in Rudolph’s
co-taught classes passed end-of-course exams, surpassing
state standards every year since 2007.

“I consider her one of the best,” Moss says. In fact, when other teachers are struggling with students’ poor attention spans or low performance, Rudolph is often the “showcase biology teacher” who Moss sends them to for assistance.

Not only is Rudolph a model teacher by Moss’ standards,

Her biology classes
can be animated, and
Cindy Rudolph ’ 86 is
unusually active out-
side the classroom.
She puts in extra
hours to ensure tests
are developed that
are fair to all stu-
dents. “I need to be
their advocate
because sometimes,
even though their par-
ents may want to be
their advocates, they
don’t know what to
ask for.”
COURTESY OF CINDY RUDOLPH ’ 86

but she is an advocate for her students on the state and district levels. She attends meetings for test and rubric development in hopes of ensuring the fairness of the tests for all students. Charlotte is a diverse and urban school system that faces unique problems, Rudolph says. Writing a test that both a privileged, high-achieving student and a student with a history of low test scores and behavioral issues can pass takes negotiation, and disadvantaged students often lack representation.

“I feel like if I don’t go and stand up and speak for those children, then not a lot of other folks are,” says Rudolph, whose days often begin at 5: 30 a.m. and go into extra hours attending meetings. “I need to be their advocate because sometimes, even though their parents may want to be their advocates, they don’t know what to ask for.”

— Hannah Taylor

The $25,000 that comes with the Milken Educator Award can be used any way the recipient decides. For a biology teacher, what better than a field trip?

Cindy Rudolph was watching Animal Planet one weekend when her 16-year-old daughter, Caroline, said, “I wanna go see a hippo. Let’s go to Africa!” So they celebrated the prize with a coast-to-coast family exploration of the continent.

During their August trip, Rudolph, her daughter and her 14-year-old son, John, traveled to the Kruger National Park in South Africa, where they took a wildlife safari and spotted some of the park’s 2,300 hippos.