FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 6, 2007
Contact: Joshua Hollis
(662) 329-7119

Five inducted into Mississippi Hall of Master Teachers at MUW

COLUMBUS, Miss. – The Mississippi Hall of Master Teachers ceremony at Mississippi University for Women recently recognized five educators for exemplary dedication.

The five teachers were chosen from eight finalists. This year’s inductees were Rusty Coats, who teaches horticulture at the Millsaps Career and Technology Center in Starkville; Diane J. Hink, social studies/math/science teacher at Lawndale Elementary in Tupelo; Sarah Trotman Lacy, biology and genetics teacher at Oxford High School; Clara Fortune Thompson, a retired mathematics teacher from Pearl River Central in Carriere, and Linda Kay Williams, a science teacher at South Pike Middle School in Magnolia.

The Mississippi Hall of Master Teachers was established in 1991 to recognize educators for their excellence to teaching. To be eligible, teachers must have at least 15 years of teaching experience, including at least seven years of teaching in Mississippi schools.

Teachers were 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. Involvement in extracurricular activities also was a part of the evaluation.

The Hall now has 102 members, including graduates of almost every teacher education program in Mississippi, plus several from other states.

Among the finalists were Debbie M. Edge, a second grade teacher at North Pontotoc Elementary in Ecru; Sadie Gray, a kindergarten teacher at Ella Darling Elementary School in Greenville, and Jackie B. Staffney, who teaches third graders at Odell Clausell Elementary School in Jackson.

The Mississippi Hall of Master Teachers was held in conjunction with the Institute for First-year Teachers, which was initiated in 1993 to advise and encourage beginning teachers.

The Kelly Gene Cook Sr. Charitable Foundation sponsored both events.