Beverly Braxton honored as a ‘Woman of Achievement’

WARWICK — Retired Warwick Valley teacher Beverly Braxton was honored on May 8 along with seven other women at the 2013 Tribute to Women of Achievement of Orange County held at Anthony’s Pier 9 in New Windsor.

For 21 years, Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson and the YWCA Orange County have honored women in Orange County who have made a difference to our community in their professional, personal or school-based activities.

In addition to education, the honorees represent achievement in the arts, business, health care, human services, public service, woman of the future and volunteer services.

Braxton is a teacher and educational leader who throughout her career as an elementary teacher worked at all levels of the educational system: Classroom teacher, PTA officer, school/district committees and staff development. She was responsible for the creation of the Peace Wall Memorial located on the ground of the Sanfordville School.

Partners in Education
She also helped pioneer the Partners in Education (PIE) program, which promotes parent-teacher partnerships and multi-age instruction, during her 28 years at the Warwick Valley School District.

While teaching PIE, Braxton discovered the power of the creative spirit to generate engaging educational projects that fueled the love of learning in her self and her students. She grew to love multi-age education, became skillful at addressing the needs and interests of her students, and realized the richness that parent and community involvement brings to the classroom.

Braxton is a teacher-mentor, education consultant, published writer and recipient of numerous teaching awards and honors. She currently is an adjunct professor in the School of Education at SUNY New Paltz and serves on the Humanistic/Multicultural Education Advisory Board.

In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, gardening, reading and caring for her grandson.