Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation

Extraordinary Teacher Wins Prize for Excellence in Education

June 29, 2011

SHEFFIELD, MA—Charles Malcolm, Humanities teacher, advisor, dorm-parent, varsity soccer coach and junior varsity baseball coach at Northfield Mount Hermon School in Mount Hermon, MA, has been awarded the third annual James C. Kapteyn Prize. The James C. Kapteyn Prize was established in 2009 as a fund of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation to honor the memory of the late James C. Kapteyn, a celebrated and beloved teacher of Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, MA. This annual prize is awarded to a high school educator who exemplifies excellence in “whole child teaching,” serving in multiple capacities within a public or private school community. Charles will be awarded $10,000.

The fund was established 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 had 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. The primary mission of the Fund is to honor James’ memory by recognizing and supporting educators, who, like James, offer extraordinary gifts to their students.

After Kapteyn’s untimely death, his best childhood friend, Adam Reeves, approached the Kapteyn family about creating a prize that would honor him and keep his legacy alive by awarding an annual prize to an outstanding high school teacher. They established a relationship with Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation who developed guidelines and sought candidate nominations from principals and heads of school throughout the region, which includes Berkshire and Franklin counties, MA; Columbia County and Northeast Dutchess counties, NY; and Northwest Litchfield County, CT. A selection committee comprised of Kapteyn family members and area residents with expertise in the field of education, reviewed applications which included references from the respective heads of school, a colleague and a former student, as well as an essay on “Why I Teach” written by each applicant.

“We are thrilled and honored to present Charlie with this year’s Kapteyn Prize,” said Kirsten Kapteyn, wife of James Kapteyn, chair of the selection committee and the Associate Director of Admission at The Bement School in Deerfield, MA. “The committee was captivated by Charlie’s candidacy from start to finish. We were moved by his unwavering dedication to the well-being and growth of his students in all aspects of their lives, and endeared by his warm humanity and humility. Charlie perfectly embodies the prize’s ideals, a role model of exemplary character whose selfless and tireless work with adolescents in a broad array of important roles empowers them to be their best and transforms their lives. As one peer recommender described him, ‘Charlie is Mr. Chips, The Gipper and Ward Cleaver rolled into one!’"

For the past 25 years, Charles Malcolm has worked at Cap Pemigewassett (“Pemi”), a community dedicated to educating the whole child. It was at Pemi that he discovered his initial talents as a teacher that guided him toward a vocation committed to helping young people explore their potential. He spent his formative years as an educator working at the Landmark School, a school for dyslexic students, then at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School where he developed genuine concern for his students well being and worked to make history relative to their world. Malcolm is has just completed his eleventh year at Northfield Mount Hermon in Mount Hermon, MA where he has helped students make the connections between disciplines and to better understand the interdependence of the world. From bringing students to meet with the leadership of the anti-Apartheid movement in Capetown and Soweto to spending seven weeks living in the poor city of San Cristobal in the Dominican Republic, Malcolm has created life-changing experiences for his students, allowing them to appreciate the deeper meaning of their academic endeavors, value the gift of their education and discover a life-long passion for the world’s incredible diversity. In his coaching duties, he strives to find opportunities to build commitment through community service, team-building exercises and a tough schedule to ensure that the commitment to athletics has an unambiguous education purpose, well beyond winning and losing.

"It is an honor to be recognized for an award honoring the life and commitment to education of Deerfield's James Kapteyn,” said Malcolm. Winning an award of this nature after twenty one years of teaching makes me grateful towards all my students, colleagues and administrators at Northfield Mount Hermon who have all helped me become a better educator. NMH remains an inspiring place to teach and I look forward to continuing the journey."

“I’m thrilled to be selected as the Kapteyn Award winner this year,” said Malcolm. “My own journey as I struggled to find the discipline necessary to meet academic and communal expectations is one of the reasons I teach and connect with students as they work through adolescence. I was fortunate to find a community that helped me to develop my self-esteem and my eventual life committed to education.

The James C. Kapteyn Prizes was awarded on Saturday, June 12th in a ceremony at the Berkshire Botanical Gardens. 2010 winners Lisa Baldwin of Monument Mountain Regional High School, Great Barrington and Sam Prouty, The Hotchkiss School, Lakeville spoke at the event about how they had used their prize money. Lisa gave out her funding as mini grants to her students to support their independent study projects and presented a video of the projects at the event. The next deadline for the Kapteyn Prize is April 1, 2012. Applicants must first be nominated by their principal or head of school. More information about the application process can be found online or by calling 413.229.0370. The Kapteyn Prize is an endowment of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation.

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.

Kapteyn Award Dinner 2011

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