Columbia Adventist Academy (CAA) teacher and campus chaplain Matthew Butte has been honored with the Excellence in Teaching Award.
The award was presented during the Alumni Awards Foundation’s annual convention March 16–20, in Scottsdale, Ariz. It is awarded for demonstrating excellence in both spiritual and academic aspects of teaching. Along with a medal and national recognition, the award recipient receives a $1,000 grant.
Butte is known for the high academic standards he holds for his students. His students love his class and come away with a sense of pride, knowing they had to work hard to earn the grades they received. He has also revolutionized the campus with his campus ministries program, and has been able to instill in the students, staff and community members the vision of what Christian education should be. He emphasizes that our school will be the same as a public school unless everything we do is done within a spiritual context.
“This decision to be a Seventh-day Adventist secondary religion teacher and campus chaplain has been richly rewarded,” Butte explains. “I am rewarded each time I witness [in all aspects of campus life] students thinking deeply about the material studied.”
The Alumni Awards Foundation is an organization of Adventist academy alumni concerned with the revitalization of Adventist schools. They sponsor programs aimed at recognizing excellence in Adventist education.
CAA was runner-up for the foundation’s Academy Award of Excellence in 2004, receiving a grant of $20,000. Tom Lee, science teacher, was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award in 2003.
Gerald Kovalski, NAD director of education, congratulates Matthew Butte, CAA campus chaplain, for receiving the Excellence in Teaching Award.
