Eatherton Receives Lifetime Achievement Award From MoFACS

Dr. Tracey Eatherton, family and consumer sciences educator at Ste. Genevieve High School, recently was recognized with the 2020 Lifetime Achievement award from Missouri Educators of Family and Consumer Sciences and Human Services (MoEFACS).

The Lifetime Achievement award recognizes the contributions and achievements of an Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) member who has demonstrated innovation in the classroom, commitment to students and dedication to the improvement of career and technical education (CTE) in their institutions and communities.

Eatherton is being recognized as one who has demonstrated innovation in the classroom through use of technology and the improvement of dual credit for students in her school. she is credited with “leading the charge with area FACS instructors for several years to perfect the high school dual credit program designed to prepare students for the completion of the Nationally Recognized Child Development Associate Credential,” said Jennifer Sikes, early childhood department chair at Mineral Area College in Park Hills.

Ten years before her district embraced the 1:1 computer/student ratio concept, Eatherton was weaving technological resources into her CTE classroom.

Starting in 2002, she began writing grants to bring technology to her students.

She has accumulated more than $215,000 in funding to help students learn better through technology.

Once these learning resources were available, this changed the face of her classroom.

Rather than looking in a book, students were able to utilize inquiry-based lessons, research current information, and apply critical thinking and digital citizenship skills.

Eatherton also has displayed a high level of involvement and leadership in the organizations beyond the local level.

At the state level, Eatherton has served on and chaired numerous committees for MoEFACS since first joining the board in 1995. She has served as both the treasurer and president for the organization, with her second term as president beginning in 2020.

She has been active at the state level for the Missouri Association for Career and Technical Education (MoACTE), serving on both the awards and public information committees.

She has presented at both the MoACTE and MoEFACS Summer Conference numerous times.

Nationally, Eatherton has served the teacher branch of the Family and Consumer Sciences Division through the National Association of Teachers of Family Consumer Sciences (NATFCS), and was selected as a candidate for the vice president of the Family and Consumer Sciences division.

Eatherton has been teaching in the Ste. Genevieve R-II School District for more than 24 years.

(Information in releases from the Ste. Genevieve R-II School District.)

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