AREA TEACHERS MARK 125TH GATHERING

Today will mark the 125th time Southeast Missouri teachers have come together to share academic resources and professional development activities.

Approximately 6,000 teachers have been invited to attend the annual Missouri State Teachers Association district meeting, which gets under way with a general session at 9 a.m. at Southeast Missouri State University's Academic Auditorium. Dr. Todd Whitaker, an associate professor at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind., will be the keynote speaker for the event.

Attendance at the meeting has been light in recent years, with less than 10 percent of invited teachers actually participating in the event. Sheryl Smith-Woeltje, MSTA regional coordinator for the southeast district, said she expects the trend to continue this year due to bad weather and other professional development opportunities.

"We're not just the only game in town anymore. When we started 125 years ago this was it," said Smith-Woeltje. "There's so many choices these days that I think that is a reason for our decline."

Meeting's history

The general meeting will include a video presentation that chronicles the district's history. The first district meeting was held in 1876 when 60 teachers assembled in Piedmont, Mo. Since that time, meetings have been held annually with very few lapses. In 1918, the meeting was canceled because of a flu epidemic.

Speakers also are invited to address the general assembly on educational and motivational issues. Following the general session, teachers and administrators will hold departmental meetings to discuss relevant educational topics.

Smith-Woeltje said teachers who attend any portion of the district meeting have a prime opportunity to network with educators from a wide variety of school sizes and disciplines.

MSTA delegates from local chapters met Thursday night to elect officers and consider resolutions for the state meeting. The delegates also attended a banquet recognizing winners of the Meritorious Service awards.

The award recipients were Paul Kitchen, Lawrence McCann, Linda Kay Rebstock, and Margaret Bilderback.

Also recognized were recipients of the Outstanding CTA Leaders Award. Honorees were Julie Hodges of Sikeston School District; Francis Wheeler of Doniphan School District; and Cathey Daniels of New Madrid County School District.

Kitchen, assistant superintendent of Sikeston schools, has been an educator for over 25 years. He began his career as a teacher and football and wrestling coach at Dexter in 1969, where he eventually served as an elementary physical education supervisor, principal and assistant superintendent. He left education for a time to work in real estate, construction and insurance, but he returned in 1984 to become principal at Delta schools. He began working in Sikeston schools in 1993.

McCann, worked for five radio stations and served two years at Red Star Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau before beginning his teaching career in 1979 as an elementary music teacher in Doniphan, Mo. In that same year, he became an active member in MSTA. He continues to compose secular and religious music and has been published on the national and international level.

Rebstock, a library media specialist with New Madrid County schools, has served as a teacher-librarian at all levels over her 29-year career. She also teaches graduate courses through Missouri Baptist College for students who are preparing for careers as library media specialists. She is an active MSTA member and has attended numerous national conferences.

Bilderback spent her entire 32-year career teaching elementary students in Potosi schools. She began teaching in 1968 and retired in last year. Since retirement, she has worked as a part-time teachers' assistant at Potosi Elementary School and also substitutes in parochial schools in her area. A member of MSTA throughout her career, she served in many capacities at the local, district and state levels..