The Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame is proud to welcome the nine members of the Class of 2015 for Induction into its prestigious ranks.

This year’s class includes: Elizabeth A. Anthony,

Dan A. Brooks, Robert Chalendar, Elissa A. Collins, Barbara Elbracht, Georgia Henry, Ronald J. Nichols, Omar Pickett, Joellen J. Schmidt.

The Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame was established in 1977 in Dodge City, Since its inception, more than 390 exemplary educators have been inducted into the Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame. Each year nominations are ac-cepted from each of the twelve districts in Kansas. The state selection committee meets the last Saturday in March to review the candidates.

The inductees meet the highest of standards. The teacher must 1) show evidence of outstanding teaching and/or administration; 2) show evidence of positive interactions with students and parents; 3) possess qualities that set him/her apart from other educators; 4)demonstrate continued pursuit of educational opportunities throughout career; 5) share ideas by conducting workshops, classes, ect, for parents, teachers and/or administrators; 6) demonstrate in-volvement in community activities; 7) exhibit educational recognition and awards; 8) submit a 100 word description of his/her philosophy of education. Additionally, nomi-nees must have been a K-12 teachers or administrator for a minimum of 25 years in Kansas.

Dodge City is the proud home of the first Teachers’ Hall of Fame in the United States and is grateful for this oppor-tunity to recognize exemplary Kansas educators.

-2015-Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame

Elizabeth A. AnthonyWhether Elizabeth Anthony was starting her first year

teaching fifth grade in 1975-76 in Atchison, Kansas, or wrapping up her 39 -year career in 2014, she was “Created for Greatness” and she personified that. Elizabeth began her college experience earning a bachelor’s degree from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Thereafter she obtained graduate hours through distance learning from Kansas State University, and contact hours with Lions-Quest Skills for Adolescence Training; Boys Town Education Model of Social Skills in Schools; and the NEA Curricula on Social Justice, Diversity, and Closing Achievement Gaps.

After one year teaching elementary school, Ms. Anthony moved to the Atchison Middle School where she spent the remainder of her career. During that time, she also taught a middle school methods class to Benedictine College students and served as a cooperating teacher to several Benedictine student teachers. She found time to coach an eighth grade volleyball team—all the way to the championship in 1989! She served in many capacities, a Mentor for a first-year teacher in 2008, member of the QPA Steering Committee for; member of the five-person STEP Team to help sixth-graders transition to Middle School; presenter at the Midwest Regional ASC Conference in 1997; and presenter at workshops on individualized packets.

Elizabeth was included in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers in 1996 and was named 1991 Atchison Rotary Teacher of the Year. However, she was most proud of recognition of the “Ladies Club,” which she cosponsored

for eight years. This club helped young women learn social skills, and cultural understandings, necessary to growing up as successful young women. She created within the community a mentoring program called “Help-A-Sista Out” Program.

Very active in her church, Elizabeth taught Sunday School for over 30 years and was superintendent of Sunday School at Second Christian Church for over ten years. In 1979 she created and implemented a Christian-based K-12 curriculum, “Created for Greatness,” which is currently still in use. She finished writing the manuscript for a book called”Created for Greatness, in 2013, copyrighted, but not yet published. Anthony initiated and organized SCC Summer Learning Academies to help with reading, language arts, math, social skills, and Christian principles. She also provided free tutoring for youth and adults during the summers from 1978 to 2014. She organized and supervised weekend “Created for Greatness” camps for community teens for two years.

Elizabeth is lauded by all who wrote to recommend her selection. They refer to the fact that she was ahead of her time—that she understood individualization before it was a buzz word. She also changed with the times and made use of the newest and best techniques. She understood the potential that lived within each child and strove be sure each child knew that. She believed every child was “Created for Greatness,” and she practiced it. We welcome this great Teacher to the Class of 2015 in the Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame! Welcome, Elizabeth Anthony!

Dan A. BrooksDan Brooks loves being a teacher! He loved it his first year

at Maple Hill Grade School 36 years ago …and throughout the years since, all spent in middle schools. He loves it and it shows! Dan taught math, social studies, and physical education, as well as coaching football, basketball, track, wrestling, and volleyball. He also found time to supervise 14 student teachers and twenty practicum students. That’s logical, isn’t it? An enthusiastic teacher is the best one when you want to learn how to teach.

Brooks started his educational path toward his chose career by attending Coffeyville Community College, graduating in 1975. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Washburn in 1979, and his MS in Counseling in 2002.

Dan’s enthusiasm and positive attitude show through all the letters of recommendation written on his behalf. A former student who sought Dan’s help with work on his Eagle Scout project described him this way: “He always taught with so much energy that I was surprised he never got tired!” Another described being so discouraged with her student teaching experience that she had decided teaching was not for her. She was going to quit.Her final week of student teaching was spent in Mr. Brooks’ classroom and that made all the difference.She said, “He restored my faith in me, the classroom, and education. It’s hard to put into words what that’s like.”

Dan’s resume’ lists many volunteer jobs that he has taken part in doing. He is a Hospice Volunteer , and volunteers coaching sports for so many civic clubs’ youth organization, Optimist, Knights of Columbus,YMCA, Community Parks

and Recreation Departments. He is active in his local NEA and other professional organizations. He makes sure to involve his students in community service projects, such as “soup kitchen type” activities, thus giving them the opportunity to experience the satisfaction that comes with serving.

Dan Brooks has been named Secondary Teacher of the Year for USD 437 and Region 2 Semi-finalist for Teacher of the Year for 2008.Most of all, he is known by the education community in Topeka as a teacher who knows his students, learns their strengths and weaknesses and then tailors his teaching to meet those needs. He is known as a team player, a mentor, the most positive person “you could ever know,” and a teacher “who is the real deal.”

His own words describe his goals as this: “I want what every teacher wants for their students—to have each one meet their fullest potential, feel valued and spend every class with a compassionate, caring, qualified teacher who inspires them to be the best they can be. I want them to say we laughed, learned, trusted and grew”

Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame warmly welcomes this very qualified Teacher into the Class of 2015. Welcome, Dan Brooks, welcome to the Class of 2015!

Thursday, June 4, 2015 KAnsAs tEAchErs hAll of fAmE 2015 hof1

Joellen J. schmidtomar Pickettronald J. nichols

robert chalendarDan A. BrooksElizabeth A. Anthony

Georgia henryBarbara ElbrachtElissa A. collins

robert chalenderBecause the stage door was open as a young boy passed it

on his way home from detention, he auditioned for the school musical and met teacher Rob Chalender…and life was never the same. Rob Chalender has changed many lives on his way to a nomination to the Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame. Today he is an English teacher at Wichita East High School, where he taught the past five years. The preceding years were at Pleasant Valley Middle School and El Dorado High School. In El Dorado Rob taught speech, debate, forensics, and directed high school and middle school musical productions. He also worked at Fort Hays and the Garden City Recreation Department.

Mr. Chalender’s college work included a BS from Kansas State University in Social Science , minoring in speech communication (1981); an MS in Administration from Fort Hays State University (1990); and graduate hours from the University of San Diego (2007-2009). Today, colleagues and former students alike, describe his ability to establish rapport with all those with whom he comes in contact. One colleague writes, “All of his students want to give back to their world what ‘Mr. C” has given to them—respect, knowledge, and the joy of success.”

Chalender has received many honors. He was the ElDorado Times Teacher of the Year in 2005, and the Golden Apple Winner that year. In 2007 and 2008 he received the Golden Apple award in USD 259 in Wichita. He was awarded the Jester Award for Wichita Music Theater and the National

Forensics League Triple Diamond Coaching Award. Since 2007 he has made presentations throughout the nation for the AVID program doing staff development across the curriculum and critical reading. He is recognized for his expertise in AP teaching and has served on more than ten NCA/QPA evaluation teams.

Rob’s caring extends beyond to his community involvement. Since 1995 he has served an American Red Cross Blood Drive Volunteer, part of the time as co-chair. He is a co-founder of the Wichita Music Theatre Teen Choir, Communities in Action team member, an ESOL volunteer tutor, a church member and deacon, and Kansas Food Bank volunteer.

Rob Chalender’s philosophy statement and goals say, “I teach my students how they can have power and influence in life.—My enthusiasm becomes the fuel for my students, my sense of humor the regulator.” The student who walked through that open stage door in ElDorado testified to this when he wrote, “Mr. C cast me as a lead in that musical and embarked on a daily quest to extract me from my delinquency with the tantalizing power of pure opportunity like I’d never been given before.—We all want to believe in that charismatic teacher who sees the potential in every child and helps them fully actualize it. I believe because I had Rob Chalender as a teacher.” And so, The Kansas Teacher’s Hall of Fame proudly welcomes Robert A. Chalender into the Class of 2015!

Elissa A. collinsElissa Collins graduated from cosmetology college in Iowa

in 1957 and started her career in cosmetology. It was a good springboard from which to start a life-long career teaching family and consumer living. By1965, she had graduated from Central State University in Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Home Economics. That fall she started teaching in Grant Rural High School in Stark, Kanas, teaching Geography and Home Economics.

Two years later she moved to the high school at Erie, Kansas where she was to remain for the next 35 years. She taught grades eight through twelve at Erie. The eighth grade involved both boys and girls and included practical, common sense things. She taught them how to write checks and balance their check books, how to measure, how to count change, food safety, and how to use the stove. They also learned how to thread a needle on the machine, how to sew on a button, and other very basic things.

Collins taught sex education to tenth grade girls for seven years. She was well-prepared to teach hair care and grooming, as well as nutrition and child care. Her area was now called Family and Consumer Science, rather than home economics. But it was still the same subject all the way. In her clothing unit, she taught fashion design as well as how to mend a pair of jeans (which the boys valued learning, too).

Ms. Collins made sure it was fun as well as realistic. Each year she had a fashion show with students modeling the

garments they had made.They put on mock weddings and made and decorated their own wedding cake. This fit nicely with her community work since she was a 4-H leader and was superintendent of the canning division of the county fair.

Elissa has served in most of the offices of the local Community Education Unit and aided in fund-raisers for them in addition to taking part in regional and state conferences on their behalf. She is an active member of the Chanute Area Retired Teachers’ Association, and of Beta Sigma Phi Sorority.

Colleagues and former students recall Ms. Collins thorough and detailed precision in her teaching and her activities since retirement. They point to the successes of her former students and they remind of the selflessness of her work. One former student describes how he appreciated learning how to bake cookies and she “always had money for those of us who didn’t have the necessary coins for the vending machines.”

A former colleague writes that Elissa Collins was always committed to keeping up with innovations. She was one of the first teachers to employ digital technology in the classroom. She continues self-improvement to this day, taking classes at Neosho County Community College each year since her retirement.

Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame is happy to welcome Elissa Collins to the Class of 2015!

Barbara ElbrachtBarbara Elbracht is a music teacher . She loves teaching

music. She writes, “I believe all students benefit from experiences that music education can teach.” That is why she chose her career as a music teacher, beginning with earning her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education, Magna Cum Laude from Kearney State College in 1982. Then from 1984 to 1992, she taught vocal and instrumental music in Natoma, Kansas to children in the fifth through 12th grades of school. In 1994 she also earned certification in Youth Ministries to aid in her local church work.

In 1992 she started teaching at USD 278 in Mankato as a vocal and instrumental instructor, but also teaching math when they needed help in that category. Next, she received her Master of Education degree from the University of Nebraska in 1997.

Barbara moved to USD 107 Rock Hills School in Mankato in 2006, where she remains at the present, teaching instrumental and vocal music and math, geometry, and algebra. In addition she guides the Glee Club and the Junior High Student Council. She is obviously a busy woman of many talents.

Elbracht also displays this quality with her service to her church. She is the Jr/Sr High Youth Minister at St. Theresa’s Church in Mankato and teaches weekly CCD classes from September to May. She is a camp counselor at the Rock Springs 4-Day Camp serving over 200 Catholic youth. Barb was named Outstanding Teacher in the Diocese of Salina by

the Kansas Association of Religious Educators in 2007.She works at a homeless shelter in Manhattan and is a

substitute driver for the Meals on Wheels program. She takes students to provide music for long-term care homes in the area and plays the piano and sings in the choir herself.

In school, her students recall playing in the pep band at all home games, and marching in parades. She even writes her own half-time marching band performances. Colleagues say she incorporates learning goals in everything she does and makes it fun. Consequently there are seldom discipline issues in her classroom. They write that she helped children before and after school so they could practice or learn new skills. One former student said he mentioned once that he had always wished he had learned to play the guitar. She assured him it was never too late to learn and she offered to teach him after school. He was amazed!

Yes, Mrs. Elbracht loves music and all who know her are fortunate that she has acted on that love and lent her skills to making music in schools where she worked and in her world. In harmony then, The Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame now welcomes Barbara Elbracht to the Class of 2015. Welcome, Barbara, welcome!

Georgia henryGeorgia Henry has a blue bath tub in her third grade

classroom! Doesn’t everyone?? No, of course not. Not unless you are a very creative teacher who will do lots of things to motivate third graders to read and come to school to do lots of other fun things while learning readin’, writin’ and ‘rithmetic. But the folks in Sterling are used to it. Georgia taught there from 1978 to 2013. She taught kindergarten first for five years, before moving to the third grade.

Georgia prepared for this by attending Hutchinson Junior College in 1971 and 72, following it with a BS Degree from Sterling College obtained in 1977. During 2001-2003 she earned a Master of Science, with an emphasis in Reading from Waldon Online University.

While she was a teacher, Mrs. Henry did lots of other things, too. She coached softball, was a cub scout leader, a Brownie Scout leader, a Bible School teacher, and board member of the Sterling/Alden Coalition for Children. She read to children at the Public Library, organized a bike-e-thon fund raiser for the diabetes foundation. She was chair of the church stewardship committee and foster parent for Sterling College students. She was secretary for the Sterling Teachers’ Association and treasurer for her sorority.

But mostly what Georgia Henry did best was teach kids. She was always positive and happy and she made everyone around her happy. As one former student said, “I mean, heck, we celebrated everything. Every Friday was a celebration…just because it was Friday. We paper mache’ d a life-sized

dinosaur, because I swear even creatures that were extinct were still worth celebrating thousands of years later.”

The school librarian described how Georgia would use her I-pad at parent-teacher conferences to show videos of students performing, giving book report, etc. Another colleague said she was creative, going beyond the lesson plan. All lessons would use visual, kinesthetic, and auditory components to reach all the learners.

In the latter part of her career, Mrs,. Henry had health issues to deal with, having diabetes and then requiring a kidney transplant. Still, she had a positive outlook, giving talks to groups about diabetes and about transplants. And, according to many, she hardly slowed down.

But what about the bathtub? It was an old claw-footed bathtub, painted blue and filled with mis-matched colorful pillows in the water-less tub, right below the window. When anyone earned the right to climb in and read for ten minutes… well you felt like a queen. You felt special, important empowered!

So, one former student suggested, instead of saying what a caring, positive, loving person she is (everybody already knows that) instead,pull her aside from all the other teachers and give her time in the proverbial blue bathtub and make her feel special just like she did me.”

And so, Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame welcomes Georgia Henry to the Class of 2015.

hof2 KAnsAs tEAchErs hAll of fAmE 2015 Thursday, June 4, 2015

robert chalenderBecause the stage door was open as a young boy passed it

on his way home from detention, he auditioned for the school musical and met teacher Rob Chalender…and life was never the same. Rob Chalender has changed many lives on his way to a nomination to the Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame. Today he is an English teacher at Wichita East High School, where he taught the past five years. The preceding years were at Pleasant Valley Middle School and El Dorado High School. In El Dorado Rob taught speech, debate, forensics, and directed high school and middle school musical productions. He also worked at Fort Hays and the Garden City Recreation Department.

Mr. Chalender’s college work included a BS from Kansas State University in Social Science , minoring in speech communication (1981); an MS in Administration from Fort Hays State University (1990); and graduate hours from the University of San Diego (2007-2009). Today, colleagues and former students alike, describe his ability to establish rapport with all those with whom he comes in contact. One colleague writes, “All of his students want to give back to their world what ‘Mr. C” has given to them—respect, knowledge, and the joy of success.”

Chalender has received many honors. He was the ElDorado Times Teacher of the Year in 2005, and the Golden Apple Winner that year. In 2007 and 2008 he received the Golden Apple award in USD 259 in Wichita. He was awarded the Jester Award for Wichita Music Theater and the National

Forensics League Triple Diamond Coaching Award. Since 2007 he has made presentations throughout the nation for the AVID program doing staff development across the curriculum and critical reading. He is recognized for his expertise in AP teaching and has served on more than ten NCA/QPA evaluation teams.

Rob’s caring extends beyond to his community involvement. Since 1995 he has served an American Red Cross Blood Drive Volunteer, part of the time as co-chair. He is a co-founder of the Wichita Music Theatre Teen Choir, Communities in Action team member, an ESOL volunteer tutor, a church member and deacon, and Kansas Food Bank volunteer.

Rob Chalender’s philosophy statement and goals say, “I teach my students how they can have power and influence in life.—My enthusiasm becomes the fuel for my students, my sense of humor the regulator.” The student who walked through that open stage door in ElDorado testified to this when he wrote, “Mr. C cast me as a lead in that musical and embarked on a daily quest to extract me from my delinquency with the tantalizing power of pure opportunity like I’d never been given before.—We all want to believe in that charismatic teacher who sees the potential in every child and helps them fully actualize it. I believe because I had Rob Chalender as a teacher.” And so, The Kansas Teacher’s Hall of Fame proudly welcomes Robert A. Chalender into the Class of 2015!

Elissa A. collinsElissa Collins graduated from cosmetology college in Iowa

in 1957 and started her career in cosmetology. It was a good springboard from which to start a life-long career teaching family and consumer living. By1965, she had graduated from Central State University in Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Home Economics. That fall she started teaching in Grant Rural High School in Stark, Kanas, teaching Geography and Home Economics.

Two years later she moved to the high school at Erie, Kansas where she was to remain for the next 35 years. She taught grades eight through twelve at Erie. The eighth grade involved both boys and girls and included practical, common sense things. She taught them how to write checks and balance their check books, how to measure, how to count change, food safety, and how to use the stove. They also learned how to thread a needle on the machine, how to sew on a button, and other very basic things.

Collins taught sex education to tenth grade girls for seven years. She was well-prepared to teach hair care and grooming, as well as nutrition and child care. Her area was now called Family and Consumer Science, rather than home economics. But it was still the same subject all the way. In her clothing unit, she taught fashion design as well as how to mend a pair of jeans (which the boys valued learning, too).

Ms. Collins made sure it was fun as well as realistic. Each year she had a fashion show with students modeling the

garments they had made.They put on mock weddings and made and decorated their own wedding cake. This fit nicely with her community work since she was a 4-H leader and was superintendent of the canning division of the county fair.

Elissa has served in most of the offices of the local Community Education Unit and aided in fund-raisers for them in addition to taking part in regional and state conferences on their behalf. She is an active member of the Chanute Area Retired Teachers’ Association, and of Beta Sigma Phi Sorority.

Colleagues and former students recall Ms. Collins thorough and detailed precision in her teaching and her activities since retirement. They point to the successes of her former students and they remind of the selflessness of her work. One former student describes how he appreciated learning how to bake cookies and she “always had money for those of us who didn’t have the necessary coins for the vending machines.”

A former colleague writes that Elissa Collins was always committed to keeping up with innovations. She was one of the first teachers to employ digital technology in the classroom. She continues self-improvement to this day, taking classes at Neosho County Community College each year since her retirement.

Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame is happy to welcome Elissa Collins to the Class of 2015!

Barbara ElbrachtBarbara Elbracht is a music teacher . She loves teaching

music. She writes, “I believe all students benefit from experiences that music education can teach.” That is why she chose her career as a music teacher, beginning with earning her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education, Magna Cum Laude from Kearney State College in 1982. Then from 1984 to 1992, she taught vocal and instrumental music in Natoma, Kansas to children in the fifth through 12th grades of school. In 1994 she also earned certification in Youth Ministries to aid in her local church work.

In 1992 she started teaching at USD 278 in Mankato as a vocal and instrumental instructor, but also teaching math when they needed help in that category. Next, she received her Master of Education degree from the University of Nebraska in 1997.

Barbara moved to USD 107 Rock Hills School in Mankato in 2006, where she remains at the present, teaching instrumental and vocal music and math, geometry, and algebra. In addition she guides the Glee Club and the Junior High Student Council. She is obviously a busy woman of many talents.

Elbracht also displays this quality with her service to her church. She is the Jr/Sr High Youth Minister at St. Theresa’s Church in Mankato and teaches weekly CCD classes from September to May. She is a camp counselor at the Rock Springs 4-Day Camp serving over 200 Catholic youth. Barb was named Outstanding Teacher in the Diocese of Salina by

the Kansas Association of Religious Educators in 2007.She works at a homeless shelter in Manhattan and is a

substitute driver for the Meals on Wheels program. She takes students to provide music for long-term care homes in the area and plays the piano and sings in the choir herself.

In school, her students recall playing in the pep band at all home games, and marching in parades. She even writes her own half-time marching band performances. Colleagues say she incorporates learning goals in everything she does and makes it fun. Consequently there are seldom discipline issues in her classroom. They write that she helped children before and after school so they could practice or learn new skills. One former student said he mentioned once that he had always wished he had learned to play the guitar. She assured him it was never too late to learn and she offered to teach him after school. He was amazed!

Yes, Mrs. Elbracht loves music and all who know her are fortunate that she has acted on that love and lent her skills to making music in schools where she worked and in her world. In harmony then, The Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame now welcomes Barbara Elbracht to the Class of 2015. Welcome, Barbara, welcome!

Georgia henryGeorgia Henry has a blue bath tub in her third grade

classroom! Doesn’t everyone?? No, of course not. Not unless you are a very creative teacher who will do lots of things to motivate third graders to read and come to school to do lots of other fun things while learning readin’, writin’ and ‘rithmetic. But the folks in Sterling are used to it. Georgia taught there from 1978 to 2013. She taught kindergarten first for five years, before moving to the third grade.

Georgia prepared for this by attending Hutchinson Junior College in 1971 and 72, following it with a BS Degree from Sterling College obtained in 1977. During 2001-2003 she earned a Master of Science, with an emphasis in Reading from Waldon Online University.

While she was a teacher, Mrs. Henry did lots of other things, too. She coached softball, was a cub scout leader, a Brownie Scout leader, a Bible School teacher, and board member of the Sterling/Alden Coalition for Children. She read to children at the Public Library, organized a bike-e-thon fund raiser for the diabetes foundation. She was chair of the church stewardship committee and foster parent for Sterling College students. She was secretary for the Sterling Teachers’ Association and treasurer for her sorority.

But mostly what Georgia Henry did best was teach kids. She was always positive and happy and she made everyone around her happy. As one former student said, “I mean, heck, we celebrated everything. Every Friday was a celebration…just because it was Friday. We paper mache’ d a life-sized

dinosaur, because I swear even creatures that were extinct were still worth celebrating thousands of years later.”

The school librarian described how Georgia would use her I-pad at parent-teacher conferences to show videos of students performing, giving book report, etc. Another colleague said she was creative, going beyond the lesson plan. All lessons would use visual, kinesthetic, and auditory components to reach all the learners.

In the latter part of her career, Mrs,. Henry had health issues to deal with, having diabetes and then requiring a kidney transplant. Still, she had a positive outlook, giving talks to groups about diabetes and about transplants. And, according to many, she hardly slowed down.

But what about the bathtub? It was an old claw-footed bathtub, painted blue and filled with mis-matched colorful pillows in the water-less tub, right below the window. When anyone earned the right to climb in and read for ten minutes… well you felt like a queen. You felt special, important empowered!

So, one former student suggested, instead of saying what a caring, positive, loving person she is (everybody already knows that) instead,pull her aside from all the other teachers and give her time in the proverbial blue bathtub and make her feel special just like she did me.”

And so, Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame welcomes Georgia Henry to the Class of 2015.

Thursday, June 4, 2015 KAnsAs tEAchErs hAll of fAmE 2015 hof3

ronald J. nicholsRonald J. Nichols was a physical education teacher and

coach for 35 years, starting in 1977 at the Summerfield Attendance Center of USD 488. Two years later,he moved to Hiawatha where he would teach for the next 33 years. From 1979 to 1988, part of his assignment was as Adaptive Physical Education teacher for SMH and TMR students of Brown County Special Education Cooperative in Hiawatha.

Ron became known for physical education activities in the community. He found a grant to get outdoor physical education equipment for the community to provide physical fitness activities for all, then organized volunteers to install it.

Mr. Nichols got his education at Buena Vista College in Storm Lake, Iowa where he earned a BA in Physical Education in 1976. He received his Master of Science Degree from Emporia State University in 1985, having worked summers to attain it.

His emphasis on both arts and science was displayed when, as a p.e. teacher, he collaborated with other teachers in the arts and music programs. He found ways to incorporate math and language standards into his physical education program, and served as chair of the building improvement team for five years. Colleagues describe how Ron was always part of the community, not just the coach.

Parents and former students tell of him making it possible for all kids to take part, even if they had a disability. An example was a middle school boy who was deaf, but wanted to play football on the team Nichols was coaching. Ron talked to the

boy’s aide who knew sign language. They sent the boy sign language as he played lineback on defense and running back on offense. It worked! Later coach got the Lions Club and Kiwanis to provide an assisted hearing computer for a boy at the School for the Deaf in Olathe. He coached and sponsored disabled students to the Special Olympics at Lawrence. He changed the yearly track meet in Hiawatha into a Field Day so that more children could take part.

Ron coached both boys and girls sports, took part in his local teachers’ association, the civic club, served as Cub Scout and Boy Scout Master. He was local Teacher of the Year, and nominee for State Teacher of the Year and honored by virtually every organization in which he had served.

All who wrote about him described Ron as compassionate, caring, a role model, a matchless friend, and a tremendous influence on the thousands of youngsters whose lives he has touched.

It appears Nichols reached the goals he set for himself, “ I believe every student I taught had some things they did well. My educational purpose was to help them improve on those things. My goal was to show them that their weakness should not hold them back. They were encouraged to try even if it was difficult. Our motto: You won’t succeed if you don’t try.”

The Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame proudly welcomes Ronald J. Nichols to the Class of 2015.

omar PickettOmar J. Pickett will be 95 years old when he is inducted

into the Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame. He taught for 34 years in Kansas retiring in 1980, but he has been involved with children and education ever since. His teaching record is a history lesson in itself. Omar began his career in 1937 at Jordan School in Washington County, Kansas, teaching grades1, 3, 5, and 7. He taught there for two years, but took a detour from 1942 to 1945 to serve in the US Army, European Theater in World War II.

In 1947, he returned to teaching in Pottawatomie County teaching grades 1-8. Four years later found him at Olsburg,Kansas teaching grades 6, 7, & 8. Next was White City Grade School from 1956 to 1961, teaching grades 6, 7, & 8, with the last two years as principal. When he left there to go to Grandview Elementary School in Grandview Plaza, he would spend the rest of his career until he retired in 1980. At Grandview he taught grades 5, 6, 7, & 8 and spent part of his time as a principal.

Mr. Pickett’s certification path is almost as interesting. His first credential was a 2nd Grade County Teaching Certificate from Washington County. Between 1947 and 1956, he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Kansas State University. Later he also earned continuing education hours from Emporia State, KU, and Wyoming University, ending in 1959.

Omar was recognized for the special recognition days he

set up for Kansas Day Observances. He has many letters commending him for starting the Kansas Day Observances. Included are letters from the governor, and US and state senators and representatives. Upon his retirement, the street leading up to Grandview Elementary School was renamed “Omar J. Pickett Drive.” One former student pointed out the significance with these words, “The road goes up to the school house, not only to remind us of him, but how one man taught us to walk a road of kindness and learning and knowledge. That man lives in us all today.”

The letters about Mr. Pickett abound with descriptions of his kindness and empathy and how he motivated them to learn, how he made them understand why learning a thing was important. He spent his own money to provide experiences they might not otherwise have had. He expressed unconditional love, but taught them responsibility and good behavior.

After he retired Omar went back to serve as a librarian, reading to children and listening to them read. The Head Start staff signed a letter commenting on his dedication to that job. They wrote he may have retired from his years of teaching in a classroom, but he had not retired from his love of learning and teaching others.

Some qualities of good teaching do not change over the years. Some just glow more golden over time. The Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame proudly welcomes Mr. Omar J. Pickett to The Class of 2015.

Joellen J. schmidtJoellen Schmidt spent her entire teaching career in

Caldwell, Kansas, where her philosophy remained firm and unchanging, but her methods and practices changed with the rapidly changing times. She started in 1963 in a third grade self-contained classroom, but changed to a departmentalized fifth and sixth grade.Thereafter, she and an associate opened a pre-school in Caldwell and worked at that independently. During that time, Mrs. Schmidt put in four years serving on the USD 360 School Board. Later she returned to USD 360 as a teacher and completed her 30 year career there.

Schmidt earned her BS from the College of Mount St. Vincent in New York City in 1959 and her MS from Northwestern Oklahoma State University in 1985. She gained post graduate hours from other Kansas universities.

Joellen believed that a good teacher needed to engage, motivate, and inspire students to learn and to master the fundamentals. She stressed developing communications skills and a sense of personal responsibility both in and out of the classroom. Letters from colleagues and a former student reflect that she was very successful in these efforts.

Mrs. Schmidt and her family were active in the People to People International and incorporated those activities in her social science curriculum. For two years,they shared their cultures, customs, and educational differences with students in Russia.

Joellen interviewed, trained, and traveled internationally with students aged 10-12 years of age for the past ten years.

Her family has hosted over 25 students since 1982. To be so widely involved has required a great deal of organization.Others have noted that she is organized, but flexible.

She has also been active in school activities,a member of her professional organizations,sponsor of Regional Math Contest, and of the middle school’s Scholar’s Bowl team. In her community, she serves on the library board, a member of the Altar Society for over 50 years, and is a wife, mother, and grandmother.

A former superintendent had high praise for Mrs. Schmidt’s work in the classroom when he wrote, “I am still amazed at the positive growth in achievement gains made by students with learning disabilities after they had been through her class. Her flexibility in working with students, teachers, and the public earned her a reputation as an excellent teacher throughout our district and county. In 2006 she was a KSDE Region IV Teacher of the Year nominee.”

As she leaves her job behind, Joellen notes that her philosophy has not changed, but perhaps has been updated as she considers many of the new techniques and devices in use today, including I-Pads and paperless classrooms. She writes, “As the backgrounds of the students we are teaching change, we must also change to meet their needs. I am happy to leave education in the hands of the next generation of teachers who will continue down the ‘yellow brick road of learning.’”

Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame gladly welcomes Joellen J. Schmidt to the Class of 2015.

to all 2015 Inducteesinto the

Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame!

CongratulationsWay to go Ichabods!

Congratulations on being selected to the2015 Teacher’s Hall of Fame from Washburn University.

Dan A. Brooks

hof4 KAnsAs tEAchErs hAll of fAmE 2015 Thursday, June 4, 2015

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