CAPE, JACKSON CHAMBERS TO HONOR TEACHERS

Nine educators recently selected to receive 2001 Educators of the Year honors by the Cape Girardeau and Jackson chambers of commerce have a combined 239 years of teaching experience.

Cape Girardeau chamber honorees are Mary Lou Shelton, Central High School; Candy Hahs, Saxony Lutheran High School; Terry Kitchen, Central High School; Brother David Migliorino, Notre Dame Regional High School; and Dr. Ernest L. Kern, Southeast Missouri State University.

Jackson chamber honorees are Linda Lou Suedekum, Primary Annex; Diana L. Hughes, Jackson Middle School; Mary T. Pensel, Jackson High School; and Diane Gregg, West Lane Elementary School.

Jackson honorees will be honored with a banquet April 30, while the Cape Girardeau chamber will recognize its award recipients with a banquet May 3.

Jackson honorees

The Jackson chamber annually honors educators in four grade-level categories from Jackson schools.

Linda Puchbauer said the selection process was difficult for the Jackson chamber's education committee, which she chairs.

All nominations were submitted by teachers in the Jackson School District. Winners were selected from the top 20 nominations following an interview process. Each winner will receive several recognition gifts.

"We narrowed it down from 150 names submitted to the four selections," said Puchbauer. "It was a tough job."

Suedekum was the winner in the kindergarten-through-fifth-grade category. She has taught kindergarten in Jackson schools for 29 of her 31 years as a teacher.

She holds bachelor's and master's degrees in elementary education from Southeast Missouri State University.

Hughes was the winner in the sixth-through-ninth-grade category. She has 30 years of teaching experience, including 12 teaching behavior disorders and learning disabilities classes for sixth- and seventh-graders in Jackson.

She received a bachelor's degree in education from Central Methodist College and a master's degree from the University of Missouri. She has post-graduate work in emotionally disturbed and learning disabilities at East Texas State University and at Southeast.

Pensel was the 10th-through-12th-grade award recipient. She is a 24-year teaching veteran, including 11 teaching learning disabilities and resource/work transition classes at Jackson High School. She received bachelor's and master's degrees from Southeast and has completed post-graduate work at Southeast and Southern Illinois University.

Gregg was the award recipient in the nontraditional category, which is reserved for certified teachers who work outside of classrooms. Gregg, the librarian at West Lane for 11 years, has 25 years of teaching experience.

She holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Southeast and is working toward a doctorate at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Cape Girardeau honorees

"You hear every year it was a tough decision, but this year it actually was," said Jeff Glenn, director of membership for the Cape Girardeau chamber.

The Cape Girardeau chamber annually honors educators from Cape Girardeau public, private, parochial or business schools.

Nominations are submitted by students, co-workers or community members. Winners are selected following an application and interview process based on their educational history, community and family involvement, philosophy of teaching and their results as teachers and administrators.

Due to a lack of nominees in one category this year, full-time teachers or administrators were selected at-large by the chamber's Education Committee rather than in elementary, secondary and administrative categories.

A fourth category, post-secondary, was still selected by the chamber's University Committee.

Each winner will be honored at a banquet where they will receive a Crystal Apple Award, commemorative video and $500 cash prize.

Shelton has 28 years of teaching experience, including 26 at her current position teaching math at Central High School. In her nomination, she was recognized as being "first and foremost, a truly outstanding teacher who cares deeply about her students both as students and as developing adolescents."

The Jackson resident graduated with a double major in math and English from Southeast. She has a master's degree in education in guidance and counseling and has continued post-graduate work at Carleton College, Central Missouri State University and Southeast. Away from school, Shelton is an active member of New McKendree United Methodist Church and has served as a den mother for her sons' Boy Scout troops.

Hahs currently teaches Latin to students attending Saxony Lutheran High School in its first year of operation, but she is a 15-year teaching veteran. Several nominations submitted on her behalf called Hahs a teacher who was fun but dedicated to ensuring her students learned the subject matter.

A Cape Girardeau resident, Hahs holds a bachelor's degree in English from Southeast and has continued her studies at the University of Missouri, Southeast, and Cumberland University.

Away from school, she is an active member at St. Andrew Lutheran Church and has served on numerous church-related committees.

Migliorino, a 32-year teaching veteran, has served as principal and theology teacher at Notre Dame Regional High School for the past two years.

He holds a bachelor's degree in history from St. Francis College and a master's in education from St. John's University, both in New York. He is a candidate for an education specialist's degree at St. Louis University.

A Franciscan brother for more than 30 years, Migliorino said he enjoys working as an advocate for students and considers teaching "a ministry and a way of life."

Kitchen has been athletic director at Central High School for the past 10 years and has 25 years of teaching experience.

The Cape Girardeau resident holds a bachelor's degree in physical education and a master's degree in secondary administration, both from Southeast.

Away from school, he attends Christ Church of the Heartland and presents motivational speeches to civic organizations, churches and church youth groups. He said he wants to help every student, "no matter their circumstance or situation, to become good and honorable people."

Kern, a professor of geosciences and science education at Southeast for the past 28 years, has 29 years of teaching experience. Since 1987, he has directed the university's Linda Godwin Center for Science and Mathematics Education and became director of the NASA Educator Resource Center in 1999. He also serves as director of the graduate studies in science education program.

He earned a bachelor of science degree in earth science education at Southeast and a master's degree in geology at Western Michigan University. He holds a doctorate in meteorology and science education.

Away from school, Kern often works in area schools giving science presentations. He said he enjoys finding fun ways to help people "better understand and appreciate the physical world around them."

WANT TO GO?

*Jackson banquet: 6 p.m. April 30 at the Route 25 Banquet Hall. Call 243-8131 before April 23 for ticket information.

*Cape Girardeau banquet: 6 p.m. May 3 at Drury Lodge. Call 335-3312 for ticket information.