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Campbellsville University honors Butler County Teachers in Excellence in Teaching Ceremony

Teachers honored from the Butler County School System with a Campbellsville University Excellence in Teaching Award were second from left: Sherry Clark, Paige McKinney and Catron Burdette with Michael Gruber, Butler County High School principal. Presenting the awards were Dr. Donna Hedgepath, far left, provost and vice president for academic affairs, and Dr. Beverly Ennis, far right, dean of the School of Education. (Campbellsville University Photo by Drew Tucker)

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – At the annual 32nd Excellence in Teaching Ceremony, Campbellsville University recognized 169 teachers from 60 school districts. A total of 3,749 teachers have been recognized for their teaching excellence throughout the years.

Kentucky State Senator Max Wise shared his appreciation for the teachers across the commonwealth during the program held at Campbellsville University.

            “The ability to mentor students, the ability to watch students walk across that graduation stage, and just the ability to  play a role in students’ lives is so meaningful that each of you teachers do every day in so many aspects,” Wise said.

            Wise spoke about how as an educator you are along for so many experiences of your students’ lives.

            “Their progression is influenced by you every day as an educator -- to help them grow, to help them learn and to mature,” Wise said.

            As a parent of four, Wise has become aware of the amount of time teachers spend with their students and the amount of time that goes into planning to provide for their classrooms.

“Your working hours do not start or end by the ring of a bell -- it does not start by a calendar date. I thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart for the time and the effort that you put into your job to help your students succeed,” Wise said.

Dr. Donna Hedgepath, provost and vice president for academic affairs, and Dr. Beverly Ennis, dean of the School of Education, presented the certificates to the teachers before a luncheon in Winters Dining Hall.

Hedgepath, who has taught in the public school system, told the teachers, “We celebrate you today. We applaud the best of the best of teachers today.”

Ennis said “Teaching is the profession that creates all others” is a motto hanging in Campbellsville University’s School of Education building.

She said Campbellsville University is the most diverse private college in Kentucky and is in the top five lowest debt colleges in the southern region of the United States.

Dr. Chuck Hamilton, associate professor of education, introduced Max Wise and read the names of the honorees.

Kelli Evans, a Campbellsville University May 2018 graduate, sang, and Corey Bonds, assistant director of bands and instructor in music, accompanied her on piano.

Dr. Shane Garrison, vice president for enrollment services, gave the benediction before the luncheon.

The Excellence in Teaching Awards program is in partnership with Lexington’s CBS-affiliate, WKYT-TV.

            Butler County –Scott Howard, Superintendent; Sherry Clark, Morgantown Elementary School; Alison Paige McKinney, Butler County Middle School; and Catron Burdette, Butler County High School.

            Clark is a first grade teacher at Morgantown Elementary School, where she has taught since 2000. She has past experience from Fifth District Elementary, where she worked from 1991 to 2000.

            Clark graduated from Butler County High School in 1987. She attended Western Kentucky University, where she obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in 1991 and 1995, respectively.

            She is married to Jack Clark and has two children, Lynsie and Madison Clark.

            McKinney is a seventh grade reading teacher at Butler County Middle School. She has been teaching in this school since 2005. Previously, she taught seventh grade math at Franklin Simpson Middle School.

McKinney graduated from Butler County High School in 2000, and she obtained her Bachelor of Science in Middle Grades Education from Western Kentucky University in 2004, and her Master of Arts in Education -- Teacher Leader in 2014 from the University of the Cumberlands.

            She is married to Brian McKinney and has one child, Morgan Paige McKinney. Her parents are Patricia Craig of Morgantown, Ky. and the late Larry Craig.

            Burdette is an art teacher at Butler County High School, where she has been working since 2011. Previously, she taught art at Richardsville Elementary School in 2008. She was also a teaching assistant at Western Kentucky University.

Burdette graduated from Central Hardin High School in Cecilia, Ky. in 1997. She attended Western Kentucky University, where she obtained her bachelor of science degree along with a bachelor of fine arts degree in 2003, her Master of Public Administration in 2009, as well as her Bachelor of Arts Teaching Certification in 2011 and her Master of Arts in Education – Teacher Leader in 2015. She is working toward her Rank I in supervisor of instruction from the University of the Cumberlands.

            She is married to Matthew Burdette, and they have two children, Evelyn and Carter Burdette. Her parents are Mary Alice and Dave Peterson from Rineyville, Ky.

               Campbellsville University is a widely-acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 10,000 students offering over 90 programs of study including 20 master’s degrees, six postgraduate areas and seven pre-professional programs. The university has off-campus centers in Kentucky cities Louisville, Harrodsburg, Somerset and Hodgenville with instructional sites in Elizabethtown, Owensboro, Summersville and Liberty, all in Kentucky, and one in Costa Mesa and the Silicon Valley in California, and a full complement of online programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.

By Kasey Ricketts, communications assistant, Office of University Communications

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