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 According to school board member Deanne Mott, the board received
40 nominations from students, parents and employees of the school
district. The board will be recognizing four educators and two
support staff throughout each school year. “We are excited to
recognize the excellence that is going on in our schools,” said
Mott, speaking on behalf of the school board, who initiated these
awards.
Lindley, the district’s first Educator of the Quarter, has taught
Special Education at Mount Pulaski Grade School for 14 years.
Lindley was very appreciative of the honor and offered this, “I’m
not one who takes recognition very well. I say thank you, but I feel
like we are all a team here. So it wasn’t really about me, it’s
about our team together.”
Lindley hails from Illinois, but attended three years of high school
in Indiana and graduated from Eastern Illinois University. She has
taught a total of 22 years, which included a stint in Richmond,
Virginia and a stop in Oakwood, Illinois. She and her husband,
Scott, reside in Mount Pulaski and have been married 24 years. They
are the parents of two children, Clayton, a freshman at Eastern
Illinois University and Rylan, a seventh grade student at Mount
Pulaski Grade School.
Lindley would also like to thank everyone that nominated her and
everyone that she works with. One of the many people who nominated
Lindley is Mary Ann Radtke.
Radtke, who is a third grade teacher at Mount Pulaski Grade School,
calls her co-worker a “wonderful teacher” and added, “Barbara
Lindley is a very compassionate and caring person. She goes over and
beyond when it comes to helping her students. Her job requires her
to work with many teachers to ensure that each of her students
receive the necessary support, which she does well.”
This next recipient is also a woman who goes above and beyond on a
daily basis and that woman is Sue Reeter. Reeter, the district’s
first Support Staff of the Semester, is the Head Cook of the
school’s fabulous cafeteria.
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Reeter was nominated by Mount Pulaski High School sophomore
Jacob Mileham, who nominated Reeter because she is always so
nice and a good cook.
Mileham explained how all the students were sent a link via email
and they were able to take a survey and nominate a teacher and a
faculty member.
One day last week, while Reeter was appropriately eating lunch,
Superintendent Todd Hamm and Principal Terry Morgan came to the
cafeteria to tell her she was the first recipient of this honor.
“It’s a very nice honor to be the first one, to be thought of,” said
Reeter, who is in her 21st year cooking up good food for those
students.
Reeter was also recognized at the recent school board meeting, along
with Lindley. Reeter explained, “Tuesday night I went to the school
board meeting and I got a certificate and a $50 gift card to a
business of my choice in Mount Pulaski. That was very nice. It’s not
very often that you have a job that you really like. And I do like
my job. I like my kids.”
Reeter and her husband, Randy, reside in Mount Pulaski and have been
married nearly 37 years. They are the parents of three grown
children, all married with children. Son Mark and his wife Amy have
three children, daughter Sarah and her husband Matt have three
children and daughter Laura and her husband Derek are having their
second child born today.
Reeter will be on hand in the kitchen today and she plans on being
done serving food in time for the arrival of the newest grandchild.
Beaming she added, “It’s pretty exciting. I love being a grandma!”
Finally, Reeter says she loves getting to know the kids at school
and she loves being involved in the school. “I’ve always loved doing
things to help out,” said the woman who also makes a mean Monster
Cookie, which is on the menu for today.
Helping out seems to be a common denominator for both of the
inaugural recipients, who will also be able to see their names
engraved in a plaque that will hang in each of the school offices.
Congratulations to both of these wonderful women.
[Teena Lowery]
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