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Teacher of the Year 2002 - Jayme Caughron, Business, GRTS

2002

Caughron Named R-2 Teacher of the Year
Others Awarded Service Plaques at Annual Banquet
Chillicothe Constitution Tribune, Tuesday, December 21, 2002
Dave Kinnamon, C-T Staff Writer

"Those that do teach young babes, do it with gentle means and tasks," wrote William Shakespeare in "Othello." This past Friday evening, Chillicothe R-2 School District officials paid homage to six of their best teachers and named the 2002 Teacher of the Year. The presentations were made at the school district's Christmas dinner held at the Chillicothe Elk's Lodge. The dinner began at 6:30 p.m. This year's dinner marked the 11th year that the Chillicothe School District has recognized excellence in the classroom by naming a Teacher of the Year, who for this year is Jayme Caughron. Caughron (pronounced "kaw-run") is a business teacher at the Grand River Technical School, where she has taught for the last six years. Caughron has been a teacher since 1991. The district also honored individual building teachers of the year, all of whom were finalists for the 2002 Teacher of the Year. The Chillicothe Educational Foundation awarded each building nominee $500 cash and $1,000 for educational supplies, for a grand total of $10,000 in gifts to teachers at this year's annual Christmas dinner.

On Wednesday, January 22, many Chillicothe community and business leaders toasted some of the best people of what some consider one of the best attributes of Chillicothe: the public school system. Members of the Chillicothe Education Foundation threw an evening dinner reception at the home of Edward Milbank to recognize the five 2002 Teacher of the Year runners-up (one for each building) and the Teacher of the Year, Jayme Caughron, of the Grand River Technical School.

The annual formal dinner is also used to promote the goals of the foundation and to raise awareness of their objectives to support the Chillicothe education community. Ed Douglas, foundation board president, offered the guests - who numbered
about 75 - a short speech during the buffet style dinner. Douglas elaborated on the missions of the foundation, which is 11 years old. "Our purpose is to support education, to help the schools, and help them do something maybe they couldn't do on their own," Douglas said. The mission of the foundation is to encourage the highest educational standards in the Chillicothe R-2 Schools and to increase community pride in those schools, said board secretary Patty Palmer. The foundation's intent is to provide financial support for enrichment programs and activities where a need is determined and to receive and administer gifts and bequests which are used to the benefit of Chillicothe education, Palmer said. Douglas informed a noticeably pleased crowd that the foundation has raised $10,050 recently.

Douglas steered the crowd's attention back onto the Teacher of the Year winner and runners-up, the Chillicothe principals and Superintendent Dale Wallace and Assistant Super-intendent Dave May. "We have a really good group of people - we're talking the cream of the crop. We're really appreciative of all that the teachers and others do," Douglas said. Longtime foundation board member Billie Fair was honored by Douglas and the other foundation members for her many years of service. Fair was a founding member of the organization and has served on the board its entire 11 years. Fair received a large bouquet of flowers and lavish applause from the crowd. Mary Staton will replace Fair on the board.

Douglas also paused to thank Edward Milbank, who provided his home and donated all the food and refreshments for the evening. In addition to 2002 Teacher of the Year, Caughron, the Teacher of the Year runners-up for 2002, honored last evening, include: Nancy Elliott (Chillicothe Middle School); Susan Keller (Dewey School); Nancy McGuire (Chillicothe High School); Jody Rodenberg (Field School); and Nylene Sage (Central Accelerated School). At the Chillicothe school district Christmas dinner last month, when the Teacher of the Year announcements were made, Caughron received $1,500 personal cash and $1,000 to spend on classroom supplies. The five runners-up received $500 personal cash and $1,000 to spend on classroom supplies. All financial gifts were provided by the Chillicothe Education Foundation. Never one to play hooky, Elliott was not in attendance last evening because she was in Jefferson City writing science standards for the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) test, Douglas said.

Douglas also thanked principals Karen Dixon (Garrison); Pam Brobst (Dewey); Paula Grozinger (Field); Connie Singleton (Central); Bryan Prewitt (middle school); Ron Wolf (GRTS); and Bob Levy (high school) for their influence in making Chillicothe a "far-above-average" public school district in Missouri. Douglas also remarked about the recipients of the 2002-2003 Chillicothe Education Found-ation mini grants. The foundation funded each recipient with $500 for special classroom projects. Recipients are: Cinthia Barnes (Central, fifth grade); Rusty Black (GRTS, agriculture); John DeBey (middle school, industrial technology); Ann Jeschke (Central, fourth grade); Tim Riekena (middle school, sixth grade); Rosie Smith (special education); and Jill Watkins (high school, English).