For Immediate Release
Oct. 10, 2003
(662) 329-7119

Ten chosen as Hall of Master Teachers finalists

By Jill D. O’Bryant

COLUMBUS, Miss. -- Ten of Mississippi’s finest K-12 teachers have been selected as finalists for this year’s Hall of Master Teachers, which was established by Mississippi University for Women in 1991.

To date, there are 71 members of the Hall of Master Teachers and they include graduates of almost every university and college in the state and some from other states.

“MUW is proud to host this important annual event,” said Dr. Claudia A. Limbert, MUW president. “It is important to recognize the excellent job that Mississippi’s teachers do.”

The finalists are:

•Patricia Lewellen Atkins, fourth grade teacher at East Corinth Elementary School.
•Anita Kelley Boyd, speech, theater and journalism teacher at R.H. Watkins High School in Laurel.
•Gail P. Hammond, gifted education teacher at Northwest Rankin Middle School in Brandon.
•Mary Smith Hardy, gifted education teacher at Stern Enhancement School in Greenville.
•Lynn Jones, teacher at Northwest Rankin Elementary School in Brandon.
•Nettie Mayatt, retired life science, biology, anatomy and physiology teacher from West Lauderdale High School in Collinsville.
•Nancy Barneko Ray, artistically and intellectually gifted education teacher at Poplar Springs Elementary School in Meridian.
•Cathy W. Stewart, retired first grade teacher from Lafayette Elementary School in Oxford.
•Sherrill M. Wiygul, biology teacher at Starkville High School.
•Mitzi S. Younger, a retired first grade teacher from New Hope Elementary in Columbus.

The10 finalists were chosen from 43 nominees by in-state selection committees. The final selection will be made by an out-of-state committee to determine who will be inducted into the Hall of Master Teachers at the ceremony to be held on Friday, Dec. 5 on the MUW campus.

“Induction into the Hall of Master Teachers has become a goal of our state’s very best teachers,” Dr. Harry Sherman, co-director, said. “We are very pleased to have provided this recognition for 71 of them over the past 12 years, and we are looking forward to honoring another group on Dec. 5. Out-of-state evaluators are always impressed with, maybe even a bit envious of, the quality of the finalists that they have the privilege of judging.”

Teachers are judged on the basis of their professional activities, educational leadership, contributions to curriculum and course development, teaching philosophy and influence on students and other teachers. They also are evaluated on their involvement in extracurricular and community activities.

To be eligible, teachers must have at least 15 years of full-time classroom teaching experience, including at least seven in Mississippi schools.
 

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