of the Year

2015 - 2016 KAMSA PRINCIPAL OF THE YEAR
TRACI BECKER – Mulvane Middle School
Traci Becker was born and raised in Florida and then her family moved to Canton, Ohio where she graduated from Glen Oak High School. While in high school, she was inducted in National Honor Society, was involved in various fine arts opportunities, including drama and French Club. After graduation in 1979, Traci moved to Wichita, Kansas and attended Friends University. While at Friends she participated in track, cheerleading and freshmen mentoring. She graduated in 1983 with a bachelor’s in Art Education with a minor in English. From 1983 – 1990, at Mead Middle School in Wichita, Traci taught art and English. She also coached track and volleyball, hosted a variety of art shows, was department chair and was given the opportunity to introduce the Teaming concept to the staff. She stayed home for two years to be with her daughters and then returned to Mead Middle School from 1992 – 1998. Traci transferred to Wichita West High School in 1998 and continued teaching art. She completed her Masters of School Leadership from Friends University in 2001. During her last semester at West, she began her administrative career as an assistant principal. Traci met her husband, Ron, at Friends and they have been married 36 years. They enjoy riding their Harley Davidson motorcycle, traveling together, and spending time with family and friends. Ron graduated from Campus High School in Haysville, Kansas and earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, both in Business, from Friends University, and is a successful General Manager in Wichita. They moved from Derby to Mulvane in 1992, and raised four daughters, Ashley, Whitney, Courtney and Taylor, who all graduated from Mulvane High School. Ashley earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at WSU and currently is a bank manager. Her husband, Micah, graduated from Dexter High School, and is the IT director at the hospital in Winfield where they live with their two children, Brett (5) and Emma (2). Whitney earned her Physical Education degree at WSU and teaches K-­‐12 PE in Dexter. Her husband, Zach, graduated from Dexter and works for GE in Winfield, as a parts specialist. They live in Dexter and have one daughter, Callie (2). Courtney is married to Derek, who is a South Haven graduate. He is a Sargent currently serving our country in the United States Marine Corps. They have lived in Okinawa, Japan over the past three years and most recently have been re-­‐located to Twentynine Palms, California. While living in Okinawa, Courtney earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Maryland University College. The youngest, Taylor, graduated from WSU with a bachelors in Elementary Education. She is in her first year of teaching in Wellington, Kansas, where she lives. Traci has been an administrator for 15 years at Mulvane Middle School in Mulvane, Kansas, where she started as the assistant principal in 2001 and became the principal in 2003. Mulvane Middle School was awarded the KAMSA 2015 Middle School of the Year. The school has also received recognition as a “High Performing Middle School” from KAMSA. “Standard of Excellence” was earned many times over the past few years when the state of Kansas had this recognition for schools. MMS serves approximately 415 students in grades 6-­‐8. The devoted and talented teachers implemented Teaming to collaborate in the interest of students’ success as well as supporting each other. The staff embraced MTSS in Reading, Math and Behavior. The teachers and staff who bring their best every day, the challenging academics, the range of support for struggling-­‐learners, the wide variety of extra-­‐curricular activities and sports, service-­‐learning opportunities, the support and collaboration at all levels in the district and a community who supports the work that the teachers and staff do, are all part of why Mulvane Middle School has been so successful!