Pictured are the 2018 Grace College Outstanding Prospective Teachers Summer Voss, left, and Charlotte Byers, right, with Indiana Future Reading Teacher Annkelly Myers, center. Not pictured is Outstanding Prospective Teacher Rachael Elliott.

WINONA LAKE — Four seniors from the Grace College School of Education were recently awarded for exemplary student teaching. Charlotte Byers, Summer Voss and Rachael Elliott were presented the Outstanding Prospective Teacher Award by the school of education, and Annkelly Myers was awarded the Indiana Future Reading Teacher Award by the Indiana Reading Professors Council. All four young women student taught in Warsaw Community Schools.

Each year, the school of education at Grace College selects three seniors studying education to receive the Outstanding Prospective Teacher Award. Supervisors and faculty from the school of education select students based on their exemplary effort as student teachers. Simultaneously, the Indiana Future Reading Professors Council chose one student from Grace College to receive the Indiana Future Reaching Teacher Award. Each Grace awardee was given a plaque in recognition of their achievement.

“Student teaching has had such an impact on me that it is hard to sum it up,” said Byers, Outstanding Prospective Teacher from Marysville, Ohio. “One of my biggest takeaways is that teaching content is important, but the most significant things I can do for my students is to prove to them each day they are loved and valued, and show them how to value others highly as well.” Byers student taught fifth grade at Jefferson Elementary School.

Voss, of Warsaw, was also awarded the Outstanding Prospective Teacher Award. She student taught fourth through sixth grade special education at Jefferson Elementary School and kindergarten at Lincoln Elementary School. “My student teaching experience has been a blast, and I have enjoyed seeing my students grow academically as well as socially,” said Voss. “Both of my supervising teachers have taught me by example to always put the students’ needs first, and my students have taught me how to be a better teacher and person.”

Elliott, of Rockford, Ill., student taught English at Warsaw Community High School. She, too, is a recipient of the Outstanding Prospective Teacher Award. “One of the most important lessons I learned from student teaching is that to be a good teacher you need to be a good giver of time, energy, and second chances. Good teachers give all of themselves up so that their students can become all that they were made to be,” said Elliott.

Myers, of Wooster, Ohio, was named the Indiana Future Reading Teacher by the Indiana Reading Professors Council. “I have always desired to have an impact on children, but I never thought of the impact they would have on me. My kiddos have taught me so much about the education world throughout the past several months of student teaching,” said Myers. “I am also thankful for the guidance I have received from two excellent supervising teachers and countless professors who have poured into me.” Myers student taught second grade and special education at Leesburg Elementary School.

“Each of these ladies has exemplified Grace’s values of character, competence, and service in their student teaching and academic pursuits at Grace,” said Dr. Laurie Owen, dean of the School of Education at Grace College. “We are incredibly proud of their accomplishments and we look forward to their future achievements.”

The school of education at Grace College teaches students professionalism, classroom instruction, planning and management. Students also have opportunities for applied learning, P-12 classroom teaching and service projects in the community. Graduates are equipped with the skills, information, and temperament to become effective educators.

The Grace College School of Education is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and is approved by the Association of Christian Schools International and the Indiana Department of Education. For more information about the school of education, call (574) 372-5100, ext. 6144.