In American Government, She’s in a Class by Herself

If teachers earned grades, Mary V. Bicouvaris would get an A plus. Bicouvaris, who has been teaching classes in American government at Bethel High School in Hampton, Va., since 1963, was named National Teacher of the Year. The 49-year-old Greek immigrant said her formula for teaching government and international relations combines “respect for my job, love for the children that I teach and a very sincere commitment to make a difference.” Known to her students as Mrs. Bic, she founded and directs an award-winning Model United Nations program at her school and organized a schoolwide celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Constitution. Her teaching ideas on the Constitution were turned into a booklet circulated among educators nationwide. President Bush is scheduled to present her with a crystal apple today. Bicouvaris is the 38th recipient of the award, which is sponsored by the Council of Chief State School Officers, Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. and Good Housekeeping magazine. Bicouvaris will spend the next year speaking to organizations around the country.

--A White House horseshoe tournament will continue without its star player. President Bush and his son Marvin were beaten in the start of the tournament by two aides, Tim McBride and David Bates, but the score is classified. Bush dropped by Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater’s office to disclose his defeat, urging Fitzwater not to “tell anybody.” The President formally dedicated the new horseshoe pit on the South Lawn at a picnic Saturday. The tournament among White House workers, including chefs, groundskeepers, carpenters, ushers and photographers, is expected to go on for several more days.

--Defense Secretary Dick Cheney is still in demand in Wyoming. The former Wyoming congressman will be in that state at Wheatland High School on May 20, and at Upton High School the next day, to speak at graduation exercises, said Pete Williams, Cheney’s spokesman. Upton High School Principal Mark Mitchell said the 26-member senior class invited Cheney before his nomination early last month as defense secretary. Mitchell said the students had been worried that Cheney now would not have time for them. Last week, however, Cheney’s office contacted the high school to see “if we still wanted him,” Mitchell said.