Congratulations to a number of Lawrence teachers who have received special honors in the last week.

They exemplify the dedication shown by so many local teachers in our classrooms every day.

Ray Wilbur taught math at Lawrence High School for 30 years before retiring in 1995. Even though he retired from the public schools, he wasn’t ready to quit teaching and has taught daily math classes at Bishop Seabury Academy for the last nine years.

Monday, Wilbur, who was described by Lawrence School Supt. Randy Weseman as “a legend,” was named to the Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame. He got a standing ovation when the announcement was made during a school assembly at Bishop Seabury, but those students represented only a small fraction of the students he has influenced over the years.

LHS seniors voted him “Teacher of the Year” in 1976, 1982, 1986, 1990 and 1995. Yet, on Monday, Wilbur thanked his students “who asked all those questions I couldn’t answer and made me go back to the textbook to figure out what the heck was going on.”

On Wednesday, another group of local educators received the Mayor’s Excellence in Education Award. The trio – Charlotte Anderson, a media specialist at Central Junior High School; Cindy Taylor, a fifth-grade teacher at Deerfield School; and Lorna Larson, a transition specialist at Free State High School – also acknowledged the students who lighten their load by giving them reason to laugh almost every day.

The mayor’s award made a special attempt to recognize not only classroom teachers, but the many other district educators who contribute to our children’s success. Anderson doesn’t have a class of her own, but she helps all the teachers in her school assemble educational materials to use in their classes. Larson works with special education students as they make the transition from school into the community, whether that means finding a job, finding housing or other challenges.

All three teachers were lauded for going the extra mile to help students and forge strong connections that help them meet student needs.

Wilbur is the fourth Lawrence teacher named to the Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame. Many more probably deserve that recognition. The mayor’s award is just one of several honors bestowed on outstanding teachers in Lawrence each year. Many, many local teachers “go the extra mile” for Lawrence students. They all deserve our gratitude and respect for the job they do.