THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 19, 1995 TAG: 9503180085
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Education
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FRANKLIN LENGTH: Long : 138 lines
LEARNING ISN'T LIMITED to the classroom.
The top educators chosen this year by area school divisions also teach in halls, in offices or wherever they happen to be.
This year's educators honored by the Franklin-Southampton Area Chamber of Commerce teach by example. Only two of the award winners teach in the classroom - one in an elementary school, the other in college. The other two are administrators.
The following were selected by their respective divisions:
DONALD F. SPENGEMAN, principal of Joseph P. King Jr. Elementary School in Franklin, was honored by the Franklin City Schools.
Spengeman has been an educator for 25 years, working with children and adults. He has been principal of King for the past eight years.
Earlier, he taught educable mentally retarded students on the elementary and secondary levels and was coordinator of special education, supervisor of instructional support services and director of program development. He also has directed a summer camp for retarded citizens and taught adult basic education.
Spengeman is a member of the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the Franklin/-Southampton Reading Council.
He has received numerous awards, including the Virginia Association of Elementary Schools Principals' 1994 School Bell Award. He has received the Governor's Physical Fitness Award for School Personnel each year since 1989.
He has a bachelor's degree in biology from the College of William and Mary. He had planned to go to medical school but changed his mind his senior year when he found he liked education better. He won a scholarship to pursue a master's degree in educating the mentally retarded.
After taking four courses in a summer, he started working in Franklin at the former Upper Elementary School and has worked for the school system ever since. He and his wife, Sandy, have four children.
The best part of his job, he said, is working with the children.
KHRISTINE MILLER, a first- and second-grade teacher at Boykins Elementary School, was chosen by Southampton County Schools.
She was selected as her school's representative, then competed in an essay contest against the educators chosen by the six other county schools.
In elaborating on Albert Einstein's quote, ``The Only Rational Way of Educating is to be an Example,'' Miller wrote that teachers must provide good role models in the classroom and out.
``The way in which we conduct ourselves in these situations sets forth an example for our students to follow,'' she wrote.
Her father teaches and both his parents were teachers.
``I not only heard from them the importance of a good education but saw it as well,'' she said in her essay. ``My grandmother provided for me a living example of education. Her enthusiasm and devotion gave me a love of learning that still lives inside my heart.''
She would sit for hours listening to her grandmother's stories.
``I can still remember her telling me I would someday have the opportunity to touch many lives,'' she said. ``Her example showed me that we can achieve anything as long a we have the faith and courage to try.''
She encourages her students to admit mistakes. And to live up to that admonition, she once had to admit that she had written something incorrectly on the board while being observed by her principal.
``I knew I could probably get away with it because it was very minor but I also knew I would not be living up to my word if I did,'' she wrote.
A native of Beechwood, N.J., she has a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Old Dominion University. She has taught four years.
She and her husband, Michael, live in Chesapeake.
MARY ADDIE FLOWERS, assistant to the headmaster at Southampton Academy, was selected as that school's representative.
She has been involved in education since the early 1950s, as a teacher and an administrator.
A Boykins native, she has a bachelor's degree from Radford College and a master's degree from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Before coming to Southampton Academy in 1969, she taught English and history at the former Drewryville High School and at Capron Elementary and Franklin High schools.
She first taught fourth grade and middle school at the academy. Then, after receiving her master's degree in counseling, she became director of the lower and middle school at the private school. She has also been director of admissions for the lower school and now is administrator of the pre-kindergarten program.
She was chosen as the school's honoree by Headmaster Bob Nicholson.
``She's my right hand as far as running the school,'' Nicholson said. ``She does whatever needs to be done.''
Flowers has been indispensable to him as a new administrator, he said.
``She's a team player,'' he said. ``She knows so much about the school. And while we have so many other, solid educators on staff, she was my choice, hands-down.''
Flowers has influenced more than 600 graduates and keeps ties with the school's alumni, Nicholson said.
``She's valuable because she knows so many people and she cares so much for this school,'' he said. ``She's a master teacher and a professional educator in every way. She really cares about the kids.''
She also is active in the community. She is church organist and pianist at Drewryville United Methodist Church, president of United Methodist Women and a past president of Drewryville Woman's Club. She is also a member of Delta Kappa Gamma, an international organization of outstanding teachers.
She and her husband, Bruce, live in Drewryville. They have three grown children and four grandchildren.
CALVIN HOLT, associate professor of mathematics at Paul D. Camp Community College, was selected by his co-workers for this year's award.
Holt has taught at the college since 1976, teaching a variety of mathematics and computer courses.
He is a member of several professional organizations, including the Virginia Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges. He is the group's board member and secretary, which requires some traveling throughout the state. The only time he's ever missed a class has been when he was out of town for a meeting.
At the community college, which has its headquarters in Franklin, he is a member of the academic affairs committee, which decides curriculum changes and new programs. He was faculty association president for 1993-94. He also reviews textbooks for publishers and judges science fairs.
Holt, who grew up in Staunton, has a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Wake Forest University and a master's degree in math education from the University of Florida.
Before coming to Franklin, he taught at several community colleges in Florida while taking post-graduate courses. He also spent three years as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines, where he taught math to elementary school teachers and got married. He and his wife, Nita, live near Franklin and have a grown son.
Sometimes students complain that his math courses are difficult, but Holt believes that with a positive attitude, students can enjoy learning to solve problems. He tries to emphasize thinking and reasoning in his courses. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
Top educators are Khristine A. Miller of Boykins Elementary, left,
Donald F. Spengeman of Joseph P. King Jr. Elementary and Mary Addie
Flowers of Southampton Academy. Calvin J. Holt is not pictured.
by CNB