Crusader Jack Peele Awards for Excellence in Teaching

Our First Recipient: Jack Peele

The Crusader Award for Excellence in Teaching is named in honor of Jack Peele, one of CTK’s Founders.

(excerpt from Mr. Smith’s speech given at the 2016 commencement exercises) There is an individual in our more immediate past whose influence on our community has been extraordinary. Like Socrates, this man has, from the very inception of Christ the King, been our gadfly, asking brilliant questions and stinging us when we needed stinging. Like Socrates, he has been a model teacher, inspiring both his students and his colleagues with his erudition and circumspection.

Like St. Albert and St. Thomas, he has been a brilliant scientist who has travailed to share his encyclopedic knowledge by serving as the architect of our science curriculum, by basically writing his own textbooks, and by working tirelessly on our Bridge Week programs— efforts that have considerably helped our students see the relationship between faith and reason. Also like St. Albert and St. Thomas, he is steeped in the virtue of humility. He is not above any task. When we were up in Mooresville, he was our maintenance guy. I have seen him sweep the floors many times. On all-school Mass days, he is around to help with whatever setup is necessary. He is always one of the first faculty members to volunteer for extra duties, and I have never once heard him utter a complaint about anything that he has been asked to do. Perhaps, though, in the end, he has been most like St. Elizabeth Anne Seton, a founder in Catholic education with a very big heart. We will surely miss his lessons, his sponsorship of the Honor Council, his work on committees, his ability to manage construction projects, and his willing aid with many mundane tasks—but most of all, we will miss his kind smile and the love that he showed us every day. For a man who has given so much, for a man so learned, for a man so humble, and for a man who truly deserves to be called one of CTK’s founders. We will forever be grateful for Jack’s contributions to Christ the King Catholic High School.