The UMKC Conservatory is very pleased to announce that Beth Davey (BME, choral, 2012) has been named as the prestigious Missouri Teacher of the Year. Davey teaches at Iveland Elementary, Overland, MO, in the Ritenour School District.
Dr. Charles Robinson, Chair of Music Education and Music Therapy / Professor of Choral Music Education at the UMKC Conservatory notes, “Beth was one of our top students from Cape Girardeau who joined us in 2008. She completed her BME Choral degree in May, 2012, and went to work at Ritenour School District. Her hard work and dedication, as well as her commitment to her students earned her this noteworthy distinction.”
From Kristen Taketa of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Any time you walk into Ms. Davey’s classroom, you say to yourself, ‘This is what teaching and learning needs to look like and feel like in every classroom,’” Iveland Principal Amanda Connelly said in a statement. “She instills a sense of discovery and creative spirit in all of her students in a way that each can experience success and use that to make a positive impact in their community.'
In her six years at Iveland, Davey started an after-school honor choir, a before-school strings program and classes of the Orff-Schulwerk approach, which integrates music and movement with drama and speech, according to the district."
Congratulations, Beth!