Vol. 39, No. 24

July 28 , 2005

CONTACT:  JIM MORRIS
Director, Public Information
573-751-3469

Six "Pioneers in Education"
to be Honored Aug. 1

Three educators and three former state senators will be honored by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on Monday, Aug. 1, as "Pioneers in Education" for 2005.

The six Pioneers will be formally recognized Monday during the Department’s annual conference for school administrators at Tan-Tar-A, Osage Beach. The conference luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m. This year’s Pioneers in Education are:

  • The Honorable Harold Caskey, Butler, who served as state senator of the 31st District for 28 years (1976-2004). Sen. Caskey was a member of the Senate Education Committee. He sponsored Senate Bill 380, the Outstanding Schools Act of 1993, which contained a revised school-funding formula and several school-improvement measures.
  • Julius C. Dix, St. Louis, who spent more than 40 years in the St. Louis Public Schools, where he was a teacher, principal and superintendent (1954-1995). He currently serves on the Lincoln University Board of Curators.
  • Carol L. Farmer, Clarence, who was a teacher in Northeast Missouri for 27 years, including 21 years at North Shelby High School, Shelbyville (1975-1996).
  • The Honorable Wayne Goode, Pasadena Hills, who represented St. Louis County in the General Assembly for 42 years. He was state senator of the 13th District (1984-2004) and served in the House of Representatives (1962-1984). He helped to write the school- funding formula in 1977 and was involved with developing the Outstanding Schools Act of 1993. He served on the Senate Education Committee.
  • The Honorable John T. Russell, Lebanon, who served in the Missouri Legislature for 42 years (1962-2004). He served in the House for 14 years and the Senate for 28 years. He served on the Senate Education Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee, which he chaired from 2001-2004.
  • Marion Bosley Evans-Walters, St. Louis, who spent 58 years with the St. Louis Public Schools (1946-2004), teaching reading, language and social studies at the elementary level.

Since 1974, state education officials have selected more than 200 Pioneers in Education. The award honors classroom teachers, school administrators, legislators and citizens for their distinguished service and leadership to Missouri public education.

Commissioner of Education D. Kent King and State Board of Education President Peter F. Herschend will present the Pioneer in Education awards.