Baker announces Teachers of Promise

Each semester, two graduating Baker University students are presented with the Teachers of Promise award from the School of Education. This year’s recipients are seniors Claire White, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Tiffani Sexton, Altamont, Kansas.

White is a double major in secondary education and mathematics and is student teaching in the Kansas City, Kan. school district. Upon graduation, White plans to teach high school math in an urban setting.

Sexton is an elementary education major, student teaching in Lawrence. She enjoys the diversity of the Lawrence school district and would like to teach kindergarten after graduating. Sexton believes that this award has inspired her and White to work that much harder to become exemplary teachers. Every day in the classroom she sees the importance of education and it furthers her desire to be an educator.

“With kindergarten, there’s something new every day,” Sexton said. “These kids are still enthusiastic about school and actually like being there. Plus, they’re just funny.”

Amy Wintermantel, chair of Baker’s Department of Education, said that many factors go into choosing each semester’s winners. In addition to positive virtue, classroom performance and general professional skills needed for teaching, Teachers of Promise are selected to be the face of Baker.

Wintermantel said that White and Sexton were chosen for their “engaging personalities, strong work ethic, organization skills and strong people skills.”

“We want them to be able to effectively communicate what we know we taught them,” Wintermantel said. “They’re selected on what we think they’ll contribute to society later on and how they will continue to change their students’ lives.”

White and Sexton will represent the School of Education at the fall Kansas Excellence in Education Conference where they will be officially recognized. They will also attend a workshop with other Teacher of Promise recipients from around the state.