photo by: Lawrence school district

Craig McCauley kneels in front of choir and band students at West Middle School, where he is choral music director. On Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021, he was named as the district's Lawrence Teacher of the Year Award for secondary school educators.

Craig McCauley, the choral music director at West Middle School, received the Lawrence Teacher of the Year Award for secondary school educators this week, the district announced Friday in a news release.

Superintendent Anthony Lewis presented the award Wednesday at West, citing McCauley’s “24-year legacy of excellence in Lawrence Public Schools.” Truity Credit Union presented McCauley with $1,000.

McCauley said the award was really a group effort.

“It’s all about the community. We talk about this all of the time … Awards are awesome. They always are. But, it’s really the day to day of seeing you guys do just cool stuff that really makes the difference. Thank you for your efforts. Thank you for believing in what we do,” he said.

McCauley directs four choirs at West: sixth grade music, seventh and eighth grade choirs, and chorale. Under his direction, the West Chorale has been invited to perform at the Kansas Music Educators Association State Convention multiple times and at the Southwest Division American Choral Directors Association Convention.

Before coming to Lawrence, McCauley taught in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, and Las Vegas, Nev. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of South Dakota.

“Craig strikes the correct balance of toughness, fairness, and high expectations with remembering that students are still maturing, and he is always, always, always striving to make them better, more accomplished musicians and people,” said Charlie Goolsby, retired West theater arts teacher. “His mark on kids is that they are just flat out better people for having learned the cooperative skills his music classes and choirs teach them.”

West interim Principal Kathy Branson and former Principal Brad Kempf also praised McCauley in a joint letter of nomination: “Mr. McCauley’s students have gone on to perform and succeed at the high school and college level. He also has had multiple students go into the top fine arts programs across the country, such as The Juilliard School in New York City. Other students have achieved performing in Broadway plays and musicals.”