TCNJ’s Gamma Zeta Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi wins ACE Award
The College of New Jersey’s Gamma Zeta chapter of Kappa Delta Pi (KDP), the international education honor society, received the Achieving Chapter Excellence (ACE) Award at KDP’s 47th Biennial Convocation in Orlando, Florida in October, one of only 29 chapters nationwide to receive the award.
The College of New Jersey’s Gamma Zeta chapter of Kappa Delta Pi (KDP), the international education honor society, received the Achieving Chapter Excellence (ACE) Award at KDP’s 47th Biennial Convocation in Orlando, Florida in October, one of only 29 chapters nationwide to receive the award.
The ACE Awards, which were established in 1995 to recognize outstanding KDP chapters every two years, are awarded to chapters that exhibit outstanding programming in support of the society’s mission and strategic goals.
“The chapter is absolutely overjoyed. I feel most fortunate to be the faculty counselor for the chapter and acknowledge at the same time that the student membership and executive board of the Gamma Zeta chapter are the driving force behind the Chapter’s success. The ACE Award simply validates their dedication, commitment and hard work,” Anthony E. Conte, associate professor in the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education, said.
“Our members strive for excellence in every way possible, and national Kappa Delta Pi’s recognition of our hard work is truly something to be proud of,” Kristin Sowden ’10, an English and secondary education major and the chapter’s president for 2009-2010, said.
Sowden participated in an ACE poster session with 2008–09 chapter president Lisa Reichmann ’09, where they presented on “Giving Back to the Community,” highlighting the chapter’s Light the Night fundraiser for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Sowden attended the convocation, which was held Oct. 29–31, with the other members of the KDP executive board: vice president elementary education and math/science/technology major Lexie Mariolis ’10, secretary and elementary education and history major Victoria Weston ’10, treasurer and elementary education and math/science/technology major Jamie Zimmerman ’10, and historian and elementary education and psychology major Sharon Triner ’10. The students had the opportunity to attend a variety of workshops on such topics as the first years of teaching, graduate school and creative teaching methods.
“The conference provided the executive board inspiration to revitalize the Gamma Zeta chapter of KDP. As an executive board member, I feel that we will be able to take the suggestions of other successful chapters and use them in our own way to make our chapter even better,” Weston said.
Conte, Reichmann, Timothy Hornberger (assistant professor of elementary and early childhood education), and Alex Pan (associate professor of elementary and early childhood education) led a workshop at the conference on TCNJ’s exemplary global student teaching program.
The Gamma Zeta chapter is part of a network of over 500 KDP chapters dedicated to high standards in education. The chapter was awarded the Ace of the ACE Award during the November 2005 convocation, which is given to one ACE-winning chapter for accomplishments above and beyond the ACE criteria.
The chapter is indebted to William Behre, dean of the School of Education, and Sarah Kern, chairperson of the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education, “for their unwavering support,” Conte said.
The Gamma Zeta chapter has been active at TCNJ since 1931
Posted on November 11, 2009