(STURGIS) – A teacher at Congress School has received a special honor.

The Sturgis Area Community Foundation has announced that Lesley Starkey has been selected as the winner of the 2024 John E. Oster Award For Excellence In Teaching.

Starkey was nominated by her peers and then reviewed by an independent award committee made up of community members and Sturgis Public Schools leadership. Starkey is the 43rd recipient of the award.

Starkey is a Title 1 special Education teacher at Congress School. After graduating from Albion High School, she attended the University of Michigan where she ran track. She came to Sturgis in 2007, right after graduating from college.

In addition to being a teacher, Starkey is also the Sturgis High School girls track coach, a position she has held since 2020. As she does in the classroom, Starkey’s goal on the track is to help students become the best version of themselves.

In recent years, Starkey has worked with the Michigan High School Athletic Association to expand its adaptive program to make space for more students with disabilities. The program was originally created to provide access for students in wheelchairs, but Starkey saw an opportunity for students with other disabilities, who were not in wheelchairs, to also benefit from the adaptive program.

Starkey will be recognized on October 3 during an event at the Sturges-Young Center For The Arts.