For the first time in its history, the Liberty University School of Education’s Pi Sigma chapter was awarded the Florence B. Stratemeyer Award for Chapter Excellence (formerly titled Ace of the Ace award) from the Kappa Delta Pi (KDP) International Honor Society.
The chapter rose above more than 700 other college and university chapters around the world to claim the award, which recognizes the most superb support for teachers and the education community and is offered only once every other year.
Along with this high distinguishment, the chapter also brought home six additional awards. This is the second consecutive year that the chapter has won seven awards. Chapter board members Brytany Todd and Mackenzie Nadeau worked alongside their peers to apply for all awards pertinent to the chapter, closely following the rubrics to ensure the chapter met as many criteria as possible.
“It’s so hard to get (the Florence B. Stratemeyer award), because you’re competing with all those other chapters, and all those chapters do so much,” said faculty counselor for Liberty’s KDP chapter Dr. Andrea Beam, who is also the chair of middle grades and secondary education in the School of Education. “I’m so proud of the chapter. They’ve worked really hard. … It’s nice to finally be recognized for that.”
Fundraising remains a top focus for Liberty’s chapter, which partners with Sodexo, Liberty’s dining services provider, each year to arrange concessions at various sporting events, including Liberty Christian Academy (LCA) sporting events. Proceeds are then returned to the local education community through a variety of outlets. Liberty’s chapter also spearheads multiple events and initiatives at area schools each year that focus on giving back to host teachers and their students. Each year, the chapter adopts a low-income school in Lynchburg and runs an event called Literacy Alive, with a different theme each year, where students are gifted 2-3 books aligned with their reading level.
In addition to the Florence B. Stratemeyer Award for Chapter Excellence, the chapter took home the Literacy Alive Day, Celebration of Teaching Gold Winner, Chapter Challenge, Achieving Chapter Excellence (ACE), Eleanor Roosevelt award, given to SOE Dean Dr. Michelle Goodwin; and Distinguished Chapter Officer award, given to chapter president Hallie Chewning.
“I strongly believe that the School of Education, especially this KDP organization, worked so hard to reach students and to reach teacher educators and even current educators in the field,” said associate counselor for the club Taylor Caldwell, who served as the chapter president last year and is now teaching special education in Roanoke. “It’s really nice for them to see the fruits of their labor come to fruition and be recognized by master educators and professionals in the field. Overall, it’s just a really great opportunity for Liberty to be a light for the whole mission of Champions for Christ and to show excellence in a secular field.”
Kappa Delta Piis an international honor society in education boasting well over 1 million members worldwide. The society seeks to unify and promote the field of education by providing networking and professional development resources to student teachers beginning their careers, university professors, and experienced teachers with years under their belts.
Founded in 1984, Liberty’s chapter endeavors to maintain a high degree of professional fellowship among its members, quicken professional growth, and honor achievement in educational work. It currently has just over 50 members.
Chapter events are open to everyone in Liberty’s School of Education. Students interested in applying for membership can inquire on the chapter’sFacebook page.
Liberty’s awards from Kappa Delta Pi:
Literacy Alive Day
For more than 20 years, Kappa Delta Pi has led an effort among our 40,000 members to participate in literacy activities ranging from a simple book drive for a community center to a literacy program at a local library to specialty projects that work with disadvantaged children, military families, and victims of natural disaster among others. The ability to read is an essential skill that impacts everyone.
Celebration of Teaching—Gold Winner
Celebration of Teaching is Kappa Delta Pi’s newestSignature Service Initiative. This new program encouragesKDPmembers to support current teachers, cultivate future teachers, and advocate for our profession.
Chapter Challenge
Chapter Challenge is Kappa Delta Pi’s signature philanthropic initiative for chapters. As a nonprofit organization,KDPrelies on membership dues and the generosity of donors to fulfill our mission of supporting educators. We work to elevate teaching as a respected career choice, support teacher preparation programs and pre-K–12 students, and retain the best and brightest in education. Joining Chapter Challenge is a great opportunity to helpKDPcultivate new programming, projects, and chapters.
Achieving Chapter Excellence (ACE)
Established in 1995, the Achieving Chapter Excellence Award (ACE)AwardsProgram recognizes Kappa Delta Pi chapters that exhibit outstanding programming in support of the Society’s mission and strategic goals. Since its inception, chapters across the country have aspired to offer creative, purposeful programming and a full slate of chapter activities with the hope of earning this coveted award.
Distinguished Chapter Officer – Hallie Chewning
Being a Kappa Delta Pi officer is not easy. Among their various responsibilities, chapter officers plan events, organize service projects, recruit new members and maintain the health of the chapter. The Distinguished Chapter Officer Award honors current or immediate past officers who set positive examples for their chapters by representing the ideals of Kappa Delta Pi.
Eleanor Roosevelt – Dr. Michelle Goodwin
The Eleanor Roosevelt Chapterhonors men and women who have made significant and longtime contributions of service to Kappa Delta Pi.
Florence B. Stratemeyer Award for Chapter Excellence
Formerly named the Ace of ACE Award for the top Achieving Chapter Excellence (ACE) Award, the Dr. Florence B. Stratemeyer Award for Chapter Excellence recognizes the highest ranking chapter of all ACE award recipients each biennium. With more than 700 chapters seeking this award, Pi Sigma exemplified our focus in developing chapter activities, society workshops, discussion groups, and other countless activities designed to create passion for our teacher candidates.
