Cape Girardeau chamber hands out annual awards for top teachers

When it comes to having an impact at school, five Cape Girardeau educators proved classroom experience is a small measure.

Teachers with experience ranging from five to 40 years were recognized for their contributions to education Tuesday night at the 17th annual Educator of the Year Banquet.

Five teachers were honored during the event, which was sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce. The award winners were Crystal Cerny, an English teacher at Cape Girardeau Central High School; Mark Cook, principal at Jefferson Elementary; Tracy Haggerty, a special-education teacher at Central Junior High School; Virginia Sander, a math teacher at St. Vincent de Paul School; and Dr. James Stapleton, an assistant professor of business at Southeast Missouri State University.

Teachers are nominated by the public and complete an application. Four kindergarten-through-12th-grade teachers and one university educator receive the award every year. Honorees receive a crystal apple, $500 and a commemorative video.

Cerny started teaching at Central in 2002 after being a homemaker for nearly 20 years. She student-taught at Central in the early 1980s and was later a substitute teacher. Substitute teaching and being the mother of three sons readied her for a teaching career later in life.

"That prepared me for the way crazy things happen at school," said Cerny, the communication arts department chair at the high school.

Cook started his 30-year career teaching sixth grade at Franklin Elementary. He became principal of Jefferson Elementary in 1998 after serving as assistant principal at Alma Schrader for one year.

During his time as an administrator at Jefferson, he said he enjoyed implementing and watching change. He said the school has become more data-driven and now tracks several statistics to improve student performance.

"It becomes part of the culture, part of the routine," he said.

During Haggerty's 10 years in education she has taught special education at Central High School, fifth and sixth grade at Central Middle School and special education at Central Junior High School, her current position. Teaching students with different needs and at different levels has shown her different classroom perspectives.

"I feel like I have a good, round picture of what teaching is like in all areas," she said. Haggerty said she enjoys special education because she is able to build closer relationships with students.

Sander has 42 years of teaching under her belt. She spent 40 years at St. Vincent de Paul, where she teaches junior high school math. She also taught one of her fellow award recipients, Haggerty.

She said she does not intend to leave the profession soon and has enjoyed teaching math.

"I think it's really almost humbling because you know there are a lot of deserving people out there," Sander said of the award.

Stapleton said he decided to go into education after working in business for 10 years.

"I began to think of ways I could help other people," he said of the career transition during a video presentation. The other honorees also spoke about their journeys through education during the video.

Stapleton said he tries to bring real-world business experiences to the classroom. He began teaching in 2005 at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill., where he received his doctorate. He started teaching at Southeast in 2006 and is the director of Southeast's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

abusch@semissourian.com

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