Geraldine Burns Award for Excellence in English Education
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Geraldine Burns taught English for over forty years, many of them at Fairview High School, and was named the Oklahoma Teacher of the Year in 1986. Governor George Nigh proclaimed "a statewide Geraldine Burns Day" in 1984 to honor Geraldine for the writing accomplishments of her students (The Oklahoman). The staff of the Yellowjacket yearbook at Fairview High School dedicated the 1962 volume to Mrs. Geraldine Burns "[b]ecause we appreciate the love, gentle correction, guidance, counseling, sincere devotion, and deep desire to help students realize and know the true values of life"
The Geraldine Burns Award, named in her honor, is an annual prize given to pre-service teaching students who are recognized as outstanding future educators. Institutions of higher education nominate the best future English teacher in their program who are set to graduate during the same year. Geraldine Burns award winners receive free OKCTE membership for the year and are recognized at the OKCTE spring conference. See past recipients. |
from the 1962 Yellowjacket yearbook, Fairview High School
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Geraldine Burns recipients at the 2025 Spring Conference
Advocacy & Leadership Awards
In 2019, #OKCTE Commemorated two Oklahoma Educators with Namesake Awards: the Claudia Swisher "Advocacy Award" & the Dr. Lawrence Baines "Leadership Award."
