Holman receives Medal of Honor Excellence in Character Education Award

Van Buren High School Assistant Principal Kimberly Holman has been named a recipient of the Medal of Honor Excellence in Character Education Award. Holman is one of only four educators across the United States to receive the prestigious designation.

Presented by the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, in cooperation with the Corrine and Lenny Sands Family Foundation, the award program recognizes an elementary, middle school, and high school educator each year for excellence in teaching the Medal of Honor Character Development Program (CDP). The CDP trains educators across the country to teach the values embodied in the Medal to their students. The Excellence in Character Education Award honors teachers who inspire their students to live by the values of the Medal: courage and sacrifice, commitment and integrity, citizenship and patriotism.

Holman, who started in her role as VBHS Assistant Principal earlier this year, previously served as a teacher in Fort Smith Public Schools. She completed the training for the CDP program in 2017 and spent a week at Valley Forge, interacting and learning with fellow educators from throughout the United States. Upon returning to her then school, Ramsey Junior High, she began applying the CDP frameworks. “I took the program back to my Civics class,” explained Holman. “It is all about teaching students to be good citizens and learning what it means to be committed.” Holman also established a community service program for freshmen known as the Ramsey Service Squad. The group participated in a wide-range of projects. “We got our hands dirty a lot.”

Since arriving at VBSD, Holman has been excited about the prospect of introducing and possibly implementing the program in Van Buren. “That is my goal. This is such a wonderful program that utilizes stories of the Medal of Honor recipients to teach the core values of the Medal. Students need character education that can be implemented at all grades levels.”

“Our District is incredibly proud of Kimberly on receiving this distinguished recognition from the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation,” said Van Buren Superintendent Dr. Harold Jeffcoat. “The values emphasized in the Character Development Program are ones that we strive to instill in our students. We believe Kimberly’s experience with this initiative will be a benefit to our district in many ways.”

In addition to receiving a $5,000 prize, Holman and a guest will receive a trip to the awards ceremony this fall. Holman will be presented with her award at a ceremony in Los Angeles on October 6.