2017 was a good year for Baylor School of Education alumni — judging by the number of them who received awards and recognition for their professional service. It happens every year, but now the School of Education is collecting and sharing news of alumni honors more often.
If you have won a professional award in recent years, please share the news with Baylor School of Education by emailing BaylorImpact@baylor.edu. We are recognizing alumni awards on the SOE website here: baylor.edu/SOE/alumawards.
Among 2017 honorees was Erin Casey, MSEd ’17, who was named “Beginning Teacher of the Year” at Jasper High School in Plan ISD, where she teaching World Geography and AP Human Geography.
“This recognition is such an honor,” she said, “but I couldn’t do it without the people who have prepared me to be where I am. Getting my own classroom has been a long time coming and, even though it has been all the work that first-year teaching is said to be, it has also been better than I could have imagined. Watching my students tell their stories in my classroom as we learn about the world together has reminded me why I wanted to teach in the first place.”
Baylor School of Education is known for preparing students well for the classroom, whether they are master’s level graduates, such as Casey, or students who complete the BSEd program.
Also in 2017, a Baylor BSEd graduate was named Teacher of the Year on her campus, even though she was only in her second year of teaching.
As a testament to her creativity and effectiveness in teaching math, Amanda Packard, BSEd ’15, received the 2017 Teacher of the Year award for her campus, Midway Middle School. Packard credits Baylor School of Education for preparing her to teach with confidence and experience right out of college. In fact, Packard chose to attend Baylor because of the extensive field preparation education students receive.
“The field experience was a big draw to the Baylor School of Education — how much experience you get in the classroom and how quickly you get it,” Packard said.
Keep up with alumni awards, send us your accolades, or let us know about fellow Baylor alumni who have received honors. We look forward to hearing from you in 2018!
For more news from Baylor School of Education, visit the Instant Impact home page.
ABOUT BAYLOR SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
Founded in 1919, Baylor School of Education ranks among the nation’s top 20 education schools located at private universities. The School’s research portfolio complements its long-standing commitment to excellence in teaching and student mentoring. Baylor’s undergraduate program in teacher education has earned national distinction for innovative partnerships with local schools that provide future teachers deep clinical preparation, while graduate programs culminating in both the Ed.D. and Ph.D. prepare outstanding leaders, teachers and clinicians through an intentional blend of theory and practice.
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 16,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.