Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation

March 1 Nomination Deadline for Kapteyn Prize for Teachers

February 14, 2011

SHEFFIELD, MA—Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation announced today that March 1 is the deadline for heads of school to nominate teachers for the 2011 James C. Kapteyn Prize. The fund gives an annual prize of $10,000 to a secondary school educator who exemplifies excellence in “whole child teaching,” serving in multiple capacities within a school community.

The term “whole child teaching” refers to educational environments in which classroom teachers also serve as, for example, coaches, advisors, dorm parents, tutors and administrators, including people who work with students in the visual and performing arts and other special study programs. These dedicated teachers mentor students simultaneously in several different contexts, curricular and extracurricular, thus forming deep bonds that enhance their ability to guide the students whose lives they touch.

The Kapteyn Prize will be awarded to an educator who has made a career commitment of at least seven years to teaching in secondary schools and whose excellence in and passion for teaching and learning inspire his or her students to excel. Prize winners will be individuals of exemplary character, integrity and honor who lead by example and impart to their students a lifelong love of learning and dedication to personal growth.

Eligible applicants are teachers in public or private schools in Berkshire County and Franklin County, MA; Northwest Litchfield County, CT, and Columbia and Northeast Dutchess Counties, NY. Heads of school should submit nominees by 5 p.m. on March 1 via email to maeve@berkshiretaconic.org or mail a letter to Berkshire Taconic stating the nominee’s name, length of time teaching at their high school and a brief job description. If a nominee is deemed eligible, the nominee will be invited to submit an application form which will be due by April 1, 2011.

The fund was established in 2009 in honor of James C. Kapteyn who dedicated his life as a secondary school teacher to embodying the idea that, in the words of William Butler Yeats: "Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire.” Kapteyn passed away on January 16, 2007 at age 45 while playing indoor soccer with friends and colleagues from Deerfield Academy, his alma mater, where for seven years he taught English, served as the sophomore class dean, coached girls varsity soccer and boys varsity lacrosse, and lived in a boys’ dormitory with his family.

Previous winners of the award are Deron Bayer, history teacher and head football coach, Housatonic Valley Regional High School, Falls Village, CT, Lisa Baldwin, science teacher, Monument Mountain Regional High School, Great Barrington, MA, and Samuel Prouty, English teacher, The Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, CT.

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation builds stronger communities and improves the quality of life for all residents of northwest Litchfield County, CT; Berkshire County, MA; and Columbia County and northeast Dutchess County, NY, acting as an agent for positive change in the region. Since 1987, Berkshire Taconic has managed a growing collection of charitable funds created by individuals, families and businesses. Each year, the foundation distributes over $7 million through grants and scholarships for programs in the arts and education, health and human services and environmental protection, helping thousands of donors achieve their philanthropic goals and hundreds of nonprofits carry on their good work. Berkshire Taconic is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity.

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