Galesburg CUSD 205 recognizes two teachers with Shine in 205 awards

Galesburg CUSD 205 recognized two staff members at a school event, honoring Mr. Baxter and Mrs. Busenworth as this month’s Shine in 205 award winners.

The awards ceremony highlighted classroom support and accommodation for students, with school staff reading nominations that praised both educators’ efforts to help struggling learners and foster inclusive classrooms.

Mr. Baxter, identified at the event as a teacher and one of the month’s Shine in 205 recipients, was described by a nominator as someone who “always motivates all of his students and pushes them to be the very best they can be” and who is “always willing to give students extra help and answer… any questions.” The district presented Baxter with a certificate and gave him a round of applause.

Mrs. Busenworth, identified at the event as a teacher at Galesburg CUSD 205, was nominated by a parent and a student. The nominating statement recounted that she offered to place a student who was being bullied into her advisory class and provided classroom accommodations for the student’s anxiety and writing difficulty. According to the nomination read during the event, when the parent told Busenworth the student could use a scribe, Busenworth replied in an email that demonstrated “the compassion and empathy she has for him,” thanked the student for doing the work and expressed appreciation for the parent’s involvement. The meeting record notes the nominator wrote, “Nominated by a parent and a student.”

Both recipients received small tokens of recognition at the ceremony; one recipient was given a coat in addition to a certificate. Staff introduced the readings of the nomination statements and presenters invited applause for the honorees.

The event focused on recognition and did not include formal actions, votes, policy decisions, or funding announcements. The nominations and readings provide the primary record of why the two staff members were selected for the Shine in 205 awards.