Nominate a Teacher! 

  • Open nominations – nominations can be made by any current parent, staff member, or student in the CTK community, however, self-nominations are not allowed.
  • Nominations must be made using the available form, providing all requested information.
  • Nominations will be accepted for a period in early May. 
  • A Committee consisting of 5 people (3 members of the CTK community approved by the Principal, 1 prior award winner and 1 administrator) will review the nominations and for confirmation. Note that Committee members are not eligible to receive the award in the year they serve on the selection committee.
  • Complete confidentiality will be required on the part of the committee members.
  • A final decision will require a majority vote by the Committee.
  • Awards will be announced at a school event decided by the Principal.

To nominate a Teacher, click HERE to access the nomination form.


Background on the Awards

  • The recently established Teacher Award Committee of CTK (the “Committee”) seeks to recognize and encourage those members of the Christ the King Catholic High School (“CTK”) staff who are most impactful in inspiring and helping our students to be their best.
  • The Committee’s hope is that these awards will validate, motivate and inspire our current and future CTK educators.
  • The Committee seeks to do this in a meaningful way. To that end, annually we hope to propose 4 awards of $5,000 each.
  • Potential recipients will be nominated by members at large in our community.

The Crusader Jack Peele for Excellence in Teaching Awards are intended to inspire and honor Christ the King Catholic High School’s staff to excel in their role as educators and mentors. Additionally, we seek to engage our entire community in this process by allowing for an open nomination process and announcing the awards at the annual award ceremony in May. Via the Crusader Jack Peele Award for Excellence in Teaching Award, the Committee aims to establish a tradition of encouraging and rewarding excellence in an effort to further the overall educational and spiritual growth and achievement of CTK and all its students.


Award Criteria and Eligibility

Eligibility
  • Nominee must have completed 2 or more consecutive years of service at CTK by the end of the current school year
  • Employee in good standing with CTK/MACS
  • All teaching staff members
  • Teach a minimum of a 4 class schedule or the equivalent (approximately 75% FTE)
  • No limitations by grade/class level
  • Past award recipients are not eligible for 1 year
Criteria
  • Impact on students
  • Uses best practices
  • Exceptional dedication, knowledge, and skill that inspires students to learn and engage
  • Respect for others in the CTK community
  • Engagement in the CTK community
  • Commitment to the overall mission and success of CTK
  • Exhibits the best qualities of faith and mercy in their interaction with students and colleagues
  • Considers the whole student, encouraging students to be their best selves in all aspects of life

Past Award Recipients

2016 - Jack Peele

2017 - Kim Antolini, Patrick Brawley, Avery Gray, Margie Henry, Maureen Milligan

2018 - Lisa Daidone, Jessica Purcell, Greg Stump, Janine Yordy

2019 - Justice Blankenbaker, Patrick Brawley, Steven Delvaux, Phil Harrington

2020 - (COVID) Bill Fountain (Honorary) - all faculty & staff for their efforts during COVID shutdown

2021 - Avery Grey, JoEllen Habel, Sarah Varricchio, Janine Yordy

2022 - Justice Blankenbaker, Doug Cashman, Lisa Daidone, Maureen Milligan, Christine Zemcik

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.