Ryan Beenken is VFW Post 2172 Teacher of the Year

The VFW Post 2172 and Auxiliary are proud to announce their 2017-18 Teacher of the Year Middle School Division award goes to Ryan Beenken of Gallatin R-5.
The VFW and Auxiliaries highly support the education of America’s youth. They want to identify and recognize America’s best educators who instill a sense of national pride in students.
Mr. Beenken began teaching at Gallatin R-5 Middle School in 2012. He teaches social studies, pre-civil war American history, current events, world geography, and criminal justice. He is also an assistant varsity football coach and basketball coach. He is a member of the Gallatin Middle School Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) leadership team and leader of the Student Recognition Group.
Mr. Beenken teaches patriotism to his students in a variety of ways. Students compete in the Patriotic Penn and Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) contests. Students write letters to Sam Graves, our U.S. representative.
On Veteran’s Day, students write thank-you letters to veterans in our community and they watch ‘homecoming’ videos and hold discussion on sacrifices our soldiers have made for our country. Mr. Beenken also has students complete a partial citizenship test to gain a better appreciation for our country. Mr. Beenken says he strives to teach his American history class in a way that builds up students’ positive feelings towards our country while sticking to the truth of history.
Mr. Beenken’s community involvement includes being the youth pastor at the First Christian Church. He leads the youth in community service projects, such as highway trash pickup and scholarship fundraisers. He also is a member of the Ministerial Alliance.
It is an honor to recognize Ryan Beenken as Teacher of the Year for his dedication and positive impact in educating our youth academically, as well as in citizenship, patriotism, and community service.