|
You've got eMule!
Vol. 11 No. 25
Welcome back to The eMule! Here is the latest news from Poplar Bluff Schools to help start your week on the right hoof.
| Poplar Bluff’s peer-nominated Teachers of the Year recognized | |
The Poplar Bluff School District’s Teachers of the Year from each building and grade span were recognized during the annual luncheon held Tuesday, May 2, at the Westwood Center.
Our 2023 district-wide recipient is kindergarten educator Christy Smith, who will also be Poplar Bluff’s nominee under the Missouri Regional TOY program. Smith brings the spotlight back on the Kindergarten Center, which had a three-year run of district-level honorees concluding in 2020.
“This to me has got to be one of the greatest honors that a teacher can receive,” said R-I Assistant Superintendent of Personnel Mike Owen, noting that the selection committee included a representative from all 11 school buildings. He added: “The job that you guys do seems to get harder and harder every year. You guys just rise to the challenge and excel.”
|  | |
In addition to being named this year’s district winner, Smith (above, left) is the Elementary Grade-Span and Kindergarten Center TOY. Smith’s tenure in public education began in 1995 at Clearwater, where she taught first grade before accepting her kindergarten position in 2017. Smith earned a master’s degree in elementary education from Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar in 1998.
“There are different types of teachers,” Kindergarten Principal Jessica Thurston (above, right) explained. “There are those that got degrees later in life, those that love kids, and then there’s that rare group that has been chosen to teach. It’s just this passion, and that’s Christy Smith.”
Thurston described a “precious” read-aloud she observed in Smith’s classroom during which the room grew “extremely quiet” as the students became “totally enamored” by the story, “scooting” closer and closer, and by the end of the book, they were all surrounding the teacher. “From that point on, I knew that’s what a kindergarten teacher is supposed to look like,” Thurston stated. “That’s just that one moment. She does that every single day with her kids.”
|  | |
An educator of around 40 years, Dale Kennedy (above, right) has been named the Middle School Grade-Span and Middle School TOY. He earned his master’s in rehabilitation counseling from the University of North Texas in the 1980s and a master’s in educational administration from Texas A&M University during the subsequent decade.
A graduate of PBHS, Kennedy’s tenure began in 1979 at Scott City Elementary School and then with the Meadow Heights and Fredericktown school districts in Missouri, before relocating to Texas. In the greater Dallas area, Kennedy advanced in the field of special education, in both the public and parochial sectors, winning national awards and helping to found a model program, eventually being promoted to principal.
In Poplar Bluff, Kennedy taught at the High School for a few years beginning in 2016 before retiring, only to receive the calling to return this school year at the Middle School. His principal, Dr. Josh Teeter (above, left), shared a story about witnessing Kennedy with his students in the parking lot with clipboards learning how to disaggregate data collected about vehicles. “Sometimes you forget he teaches children with significant limitations,” commented Teeter, noting that Kennedy’s focus is “building their self-esteem.”
|  | |
Tracey Hall (above, left) has been named Secondary Grade-Span and High School TOY. She has served as a business education teacher since 2002, beginning at Neelyville High School before accepting a position at PBHS in 2010, ultimately serving as Practical Arts Department head. In 2018, she earned her master’s in education technology from the University of Central Missouri at Warrensburg.
PBHS Principal Dr. Valerie Ivy (above, right) quoted the supporting letter of Pam Davis from the Business Department, stating: “Her leadership, professionalism and work ethic is the glue that holds our department together.” Math Department chairperson Hope Conover added: “She is one of the people in the building that you know will complete any given task and with excellence. …She [treats] students with kindness and respect while maintaining an appropriate level of accountability for the students.”
According to Ivy, a parent testified how Hall is "one of those teachers you feel grateful that your children cross paths with," and another said Hall inspired her child to “become more involved in school activities.” A student wrote in summary: “I want people to respect me in the future as much as I respect her.”
|  | |
Pennie Ethridge (above, left) has been named the Early Childhood Center’s TOY. Ethridge earned her bachelor’s in elementary education from Central Methodist University in Park Hills. A faculty member of Poplar Bluff Schools since 2000, Ethridge has been named the TOY at each of the buildings she has been employed at during her tenure – including Eugene Field and the Kindergarten Center.
“She brings that wealth of knowledge from all the other [grade levels] to us,” ECH Principal JoAnne Westbrook (above, right) said. “She goes above and beyond creating a nurturing environment for our students.”
Westbrook, who has had the privilege of working alongside Ethridge for the past three years, quoted a letter of support by a parent of twins, stating: “…I will forever be grateful that she was my children’s first teacher and that she inspired them to have a love for learning.”
|  | |
A member of the elementary school faculty since 2007, Kylee Moss (above, left) has been named Eugene Field’s TOY. She earned a master’s in elementary administration from William Woods University at Fulton in 2016, and is presently working toward another master’s in math through a new state initiative.
Eugene Field Principal Jennifer Taylor (above, right) stated that Moss has “never had a situation arise in which she couldn’t find an effective solution” and she “capitalizes on every instructional minute with enthusiasm.”
Taylor noted that the elementary school “always has numerous parent requests” for Moss to be their child’s teacher. Taylor quoted the support letter of librarian Melissa Reese, stating: “She is a true pillar of what we stand for and what being a leader is all about.”
|  | |
Adriann D’Amico (above, right) has been named the TOY at Lake Road, where she has taught for two years. She began her teaching career at South Iron in 2016. D’Amico is currently working on her master’s in special education from Missouri State University in Springfield.
“She demonstrates unwavering connectivity to her staff and her students,” explained Rondi Vaughn (above, left), Lake Road principal. Vaughn added that D’Amico could be spotted running out to a vehicle after school during parent pickup to make that “little deposit,” further strengthening her relationships.
“She has that special thing that can’t be taught – that thing that sets them apart,” Vaughn continued. “This is a teacher that’s gonna make an outstanding difference in a student's life."
|  | |
Carey Wilkerson (above, right) has been named the TOY for Oak Grove, where she has been employed since 2009, with the exception of a two-year stretch at the former 5th & 6th Grade Center. She earned her master’s in administration from William Woods University in 2012.
“She’s still learning and growing,” Oak Grove Principal Kristie Robinson (above, left) said. Wilkerson is presently working on her specialist degree in reading from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. Robinson continued: “As educators, one of the best things we can have going is not to become complacent.”
Robinson added that Wilkerson is a “relationship teacher” who “pours her heart into” her students, perhaps best illustrated by the “birthday book” she maintains with each child to help make them feel special. On a personal note, Wilkerson taught Robinson’s own son Tanner, now a sophomore in college, and made a lasting impact on his educational journey, according to the principal.
|  | |
Andrea Cline (above, right) has been named TOY at O'Neal Elementary, where she has been employed for the entirety of her teaching tenure, beginning in 2003. The year prior, she earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau.
O’Neal Principal Dr. Amy Dill (above, left) revealed how Cline began her career in retail management, but revisited her higher education to find more “meaningful work” for herself. While at the Stage Co., Cline would tutor children when she discovered this new passion.
Her high school sweetheart, Ronnie, with whom she has raised a family, refers to Cline as a “rockstar." Dill quoted Ronnie, saying: "If you want to know what it feels like, just go to Walmart with Andrea," where former students constantly stop her for a hug or to say, 'Hi.'
|  | |
Amanda Bullington (above, left) has been named the TOY at Junior High, where she has been a physical education instructor since 2017. Before that, she taught world history for three years, all the while coaching girls basketball. Her career in education began at Orchard Elementary in Jackson in 2008, after which she accepted a position in the Lebanon School District. She earned her master’s in administration of education from William Woods University in 2010.
“It’s not often you see a physical education teacher as Teacher of the Year, and that should tell you the quality” of a professional Bullington is, Junior High Principal Candace Warren (above, right) stated. “…She was salutatorian [at Twin Rivers], and hasn’t stopped achieving since.”
Warren described Bullington’s adaptive gym class as the “best place to go” when “having a bad day.” She noted that Bullington “treats everyone like a star basketball player,” which she said she finds “touching” both as a mother and a lifelong educator. Warren quoted one student as stating: “I love to walk with her,” because that is a time when they get to check in with one another.
|  | |
Dee Jones (above) has been named the Mark Twain TOY. Jones was hired in the Poplar Bluff School District in 2019 at the RISE Transition Center, a pilot to the alternative school programming. Jones previously taught for a decade total at South Mississippi County and Doniphan schools, as well as served the YMCA and 36th Judicial Circuit Court. In 1998, she earned a bachelor’s in early childhood/elementary education from Arkansas State University, where she also received her special education certification.
“All Dee Jones has ever dealt with is change,” Mark Twain Principal Aaron Burton (above) made note. At Poplar Bluff’s nontraditional school, Jones began teaching credit recovery at the secondary level, and later became lead teacher for the newly added middle school cohort. Burton pointed out that he has since “added even more to her plate,” yet “Dee is always ready to accept what is absolutely needed.”
“Dee Jones is passionate about creating leaders in her classroom,” Burton continued. “She is a person with purpose. The passion, the care, the love just pours out of her.”
|  | |
Candy Taylor (above) has been named the Technical Career Center TOY. She began at the TCC as vocational resource educator and the financial aid director in 2020, before which she taught variously in Doniphan, Corning, Rector and Piggott, starting in 1990. In 1997, she earned her master’s degree in early childhood/elementary education from Arkansas State University, where she would also receive a master’s in gifted and talented education.
TCC Director Charles Kinsey (above) quoted a student who described Taylor as the “smiley, good-mood person.” Kinsey added that Taylor is “persistently optimistic almost to a fault,” jokingly referring to her as the fictional character, “Tinker Bell.”
“Candy walked into our doors and has been a ray of sunshine ever since,” Kinsey concluded. “Her influence has been astronomically game-changing in our building.”
Please click here to help congratulate our 2023 TOYs!
|  | |
A “true mule” and a mother hen were terms of endearment used to describe some of this year’s retirees. Administrators complimented one teacher for maintaining a “zest for education” even at the end of her storied career, while another was said to have taught the campus community that “art doesn’t come in a neat little basket.”
School leaders contributing more than 400 years of service to the Poplar Bluff school system alone were honored during the annual retirement reception held Tuesday, May 2, at the Westwood Center. Among our outgoing dignitaries were two of Poplar Bluff’s top position holders: Superintendent Dr. Scott Dill and Assistant Superintendent of Business Dr. Amy Jackson.
Fellow cabinet member Mike Owen, assistant superintendent of personnel, summarized Jackson’s career, which includes 21 years in Poplar Bluff, beginning as associate superintendent of special services, then Owen’s current post, and most recently assistant superintendent of business. Before returning to her alma mater, Jackson taught and coached at Neelyville, where she started a high school softball team, and was said to become the youngest superintendent in the state at the time in Risco.
“Amy has excelled at every position she has had,” said Owen, adding that she has a “true heart” for students. “No one can question her dedication and hard work.”
Dill came to Poplar Bluff seven years ago by way of Houston, Mo., where he held the superintendent position since 2012, before which he served as middle school principal. He was employed for a decade prior as a library media specialist in Macks Creek.
Owen joked how “Dr. Dill likes to say things in fancy ways,” and “no one heard of the term ‘library media specialist’ before him,” the superintendent invented the title for a librarian and then other districts followed suit. On a serious note, Owen described Dill as “approachable, open-minded and visible” throughout the district. Despite a challenging time to lead, topped off by a public health crisis, Owen said that Dill “always found a way to navigate those situations, move the district forward, and get the kids back on track.”
Above: (Left to right) Karisa Gilbreath, Darrell Gettings, Fawn Luecke, Cindy McIver, Dr. Amy Jackson, Michelle Farmer, Gina Duckett, Holly Shupe, Terri Hendricks, Dr. Scott Dill, Vicky Bissette, Sherry Jameson, Retta Wells, Jeannette Davis, Candace Hecker, Terry DeShaney Bennett and Jan Ethridge. Not present during the reception were Kimberly Bieller, Rhonda Burns, Diane Leggett and Janice Smith.
Below: Fawn Luecke, Kindergarten Center art teacher, gifts Dr. Scott Dill a hand-painted plate commemorating his superintendency in Poplar Bluff.
Please take a moment and leave our esteemed retirees a comment here!
|  | |  |
|
FFA Plant Sale
The PBHS FFA is holding its annual plant sale beginning today, Monday, May 8, from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. in the greenhouse behind campus at 3209 Oak Grove Rd.
Kinder Celebration
The Kindergarten Center will hold its end-of-the-year celebrations at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, May 22-24, at 1200 Camp Rd.
PBHS Graduation
The commencement ceremony for the PBHS Class of 2023 will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 25, in the Black River Coliseum.
| |
On Monday, May 1, the DAR reported about incoming Superintendent Dr. Aaron Cornman speaking at the Chamber luncheon.
On Tuesday, May 2, KFVS12 reported about the electric vehicle conversion our auto tech class carried out at the TCC. The news segment was picked up by multiple affiliate networks including: KBTX3, KWCH, WBRC, WDBJ and WLOX.
On Wednesday, May 3, KWOC additionally reported about our electric vehicle conversion.
The DAR reported about our TOY luncheon; Dicken Scholarship recipient Damaireus Winters; and our PBHS Student Council for being named a National Gold Council of Excellence.
On Thursday, May 3, KWOC reported about our FBLA statewide award recipients: Bralin Duckett and Emma Tinsley.
| |
