News

On Tuesday, Oct. 15, the Lee University chapter of Kappa Delta Pi, an international honor society for educators, recognized local teachers for their demonstration of excellence in the classroom. The ceremony was held on campus in the Humanities Center.

Each year, the education honor society recognizes educators who have made significant contributions to their students and the community. The honorees this year include: Darlene Cofer, Grace Dyrek, Carolyn Ingram, Jill McGuire, Cody Raper, Richelle Shelton, and Blake Beard.

Cofer is a special education reading teacher at Bradley County High School. She previously worked as a special education elementary teacher at Trewhitt, Hopewell, and Charleston elementary schools, and as a modified resource teacher at Blue Springs Elementary School.

Dyrek has worked over eight years in the education profession and is currently a librarian at Cleveland Middle School. Previous positions she has held include librarian at Claires Court in Maidenhead, England, and librarian at Ft. Clayton Elementary School in Panama City, Panama.
She also received the Silver Moonbeam Award for a novel that she wrote and illustrated.

Ingram currently serves as principal of Yates Primary School, where she has worked for 21 years. She has 40 years of experience in the education profession. She taught primary grades for 18 years and served as the principal of Blythe Elementary School for three years. Ingram is also a Rotary Club member and previously served as president of the Tennessee Reading Association.

McGuire teaches at Ocoee Middle School and previously taught first and fifth grade at Hopewell Elementary. She also works as a summer school instructor. McGuire has spent 18 years in the education profession.

Raper works in communications at Cleveland Middle School. He is a member of the Student Television Network and holds the position of chapter advisor for the Technology Student Association Club.

Shelton has dedicated 18 years to the education profession and currently serves as the assistant principal of Mayfield Elementary School. Among many other accomplishments, Shelton has been involved in curriculum development and assessment in Cleveland City Schools and worked to change state policy on fire drills.

Beard teaches eighth grade science at Lake Forest Middle School, where he has taught for the past 11 years. During his time there, Beard also coached football for seven years and served as the sponsor for Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

During the ceremony, new students were inducted into the honor society. These students include: Joseph Isaac Archer, Corey Nakai Bean, Elizabeth Bower, Katherine Ann Defer, Jason D. Dehart, Sarah Kathryn Foley, Elisabeth Anne Grimes, Alexandria Jones, Melanie Kehrer, Rachel Elizabeth Laba, Samuel Russell Lackey, Tyler Morrison, Hailey Megan Partridge, Kristal Ann Peters, Kady Rogers, Taylor Dawn Stachowicz, Kaylee Vaught, and Lauren Madison Young.

Kappa Delta Pi seeks to encourage high professional, intellectual, and personal standards and to recognize outstanding contributions in education. Founded in 1911, the society became an International Honor Society in Education in 1981.

For more information on the honorees or Kappa Delta Pi, please call the Helen DeVos College of Education at 423-614-8175.