UTC Butterfield Fellows Cohort Celebrates 12 Area Educators

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga School of Education announced the 12 members of its 2023-2024 Butterfield Fellows cohort, a group of local educators selected for their exemplary classroom management practices supporting children and teacher education.
 
The Butterfield Fellows program was created in memory of Dr. William Butterfield, the late professor emeritus of the UTC Teacher Preparation Academy, who spent 31 years on the UTC faculty.
 
The 2023-2024 Butterfield Fellows are:
• Emily Brace – Hardy Elementary;
• Rachel Burgess – Orchard Knob Middle School;
• Jennifer Burnette – East Ridge Elementary;
• Kyle Carrasco – STEM School;
• Catherine Casselman – Eastside Elementary;
• Chandler Davenport – The Howard School;
• David Jackson – Brown Middle;
• Annie Jernigan – Hixson High School;
• Tamblynn Mauldin – Apison Elementary;
• Dr. Krysta Murillo – UTC: School of Education;
• Sarah Rivkin – Brown Academy; and
• Shannon Stidham – Woodmore Elementary.
 
“We have identified 12 teacher leaders, 11 from Hamilton County Schools and one UTC scholar, to support positive classroom management and best practices for this next year,” said UTC School of Education Assistant Professor Jason Gordon. “Our mission here is to provide access for our teacher candidates and Hamilton County Schools novice teachers to have access to the best models that we know here in our community.”
 
Dr. Kim Wingate, interim co-director of the School of Education, said Mr. Gordon and Assistant Professor Jennifer Lynberg worked closely with Hamilton County Schools Induction Coordinator Erin Kirby and Dean of Students Cheryl McCray to identify Butterfield Fellows candidates.
 
“This program is a win for our faculty,” Dr. Wingate said. “They are recognized for their hard work and for the collaboration they’re doing to support teachers. And it’s a win for our students because they’re seeing all of these practices. “They’re learning from their faculty and working with the Butterfield Fellows—these outstanding classroom management instructors.”
 
While at UTC, Dr. Butterfield taught secondary education curriculum and instruction, adolescent psychology and worked with student teachers. Following his death in 2008, his wife, Martha—a retired Mary B. Jackson associate professor who taught at UTC from 1974 to 1998—established a fund supporting teachers in Hamilton County Schools who work with other teachers to implement classroom management techniques.