After 40 years of educating USD 308 students, little surprises biology teacher Larry Ballard.
Wednesday, the educator was genuinely surprised in his fifth-hour class.
Shortly after the bell rang at 2:09 p-m, former student Scott Coons and an entourage from his company and the University of Kansas walked in to Ballard’s honors biology class. Coons carried an oversized check for $1,500.
Ballard was being honored by Coon’s company, Perceptive Software, and the University of Kansas’ School of Engineering with this month’s Educating Excellence award. He received both the check and will receive a color laser printer.
Perceptive and KU launched the Educating Excellence program in March 2010 to recognize outstanding Kansas and Kansas City area high school science, technology, engineering and math teachers.
Ballard currently teaches honors, International Baccalaureate and standard biology classes at HHS. According to students and colleagues alike, Ballard brings biology to life, shedding light on tough concepts and leading hands-on projects, including one popular lesson that involves sample collection at Cow Creek. He also makes himself available outside of the classroom, staying long hours and mentoring students on their college and career plans.
Coons, Hutchinson High School alum and president and CEO of Perceptive Software, presented Ballard with the $1,500 Educating Excellence award along with Interim Dean of the KU School of Engineering, Dr. Stan Rolfe.
“As a student at Hutchinson High School, a teacher recognized my interest and potential in math and science and helped guide me into my career as an engineer,” Coons said. “Realizing many students’ lives have been impacted by outstanding teachers throughout our state and the metro area, we launched this program to recognize teachers making a difference in the lives of students.”
Each month throughout the academic year, the $1,500 award is given to an outstanding Kansas or Kansas City area teacher. Nine teachers in total will be recognized during the current academic year. In order to be eligible, a teacher must receive three separate nominations – one each from a colleague, a member of the community and a current student. Nominations can be made online at www.educatingexcellence.org.
Perceptive Software, creator of process and content management products and software, including intelligent data capture, and the University of Kansas School of Engineering partnered in March 2010 to launch the Educating Excellence program. The program was established to recognize high school science, technology, engineering and math teachers.
Coons has been honored in the past by HHS. He is on the HHS Wall of Honor, inducted as part of the 2010 class. Coons graduated from Hutchinson High School in 1985. While at Hutchinson High School, he excelled in academics and sports and was president of the student body. In addition to his outstanding career and leadership in the software world, Coons is also part of the KTEC Pipeline and helps match up-and-coming entrepreneurs with already successful mentors.
His ability to “think outside the box” has earned him many awards, including recognition as one of Kansas City’s Top Ten Companies, and Best Software Product of the Year in 2007 by Document Manager magazine.
Coons’ company serves more than 2,000 organizations in 45 countries. Their clients include institutions of higher learning, hospitals, financial service organizations, insurance companies, and organizations from Wimbledon to the federal government. His company continues to expand internationally with headquarters in London, Sidney, and Singapore. In 2006, he was named an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year.
Coons volunteers his time to serve on boards at both the University of Kansas and Kansas State University.