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Bartlesville Public Schools

Posted: Mar 18, 2026 10:35 AMUpdated: Mar 18, 2026 10:41 AM

Three Bartlesville Teachers to be Inducted in Educator Hall of Fame

Three Bartlesville teachers will be inducted into the Bartlesville Educators Hall of Fame during a banquet on Thursday March 26.

 

Appearing on Community Connection, the foundation's Executive Director Rachel Miller gave the details.

 

For tickets to the Hall of Fame Banquet, click here.

 

Below are the inductees

 

Carol Smith

 

As a beloved French teacher, Carol Smith didn’t just teach a world language, she made it come to life. Her classroom was filled with creativity and fun from songs to dancing to French cuisine -her students were always entertained. Through these engaging lessons, she instilled a lifelong love of French culture in her students and sparked a global curiosity that led many of them to explore the world. The Bartlesville Public Schools Foundation will celebrate “Madame Smith” at the 16th annual Educator Hall of Fame for leaving a legacy that extended far beyond her classroom walls.

 

Carol’s journey into education began in Coffeyville, Kansas where she was born into a family of educators. Her father was a coach and teacher, and her mother was an elementary school educator. In high school, as President of the Kansas Latin Club and an exceptional French student, she knew she wanted a career that involved language. But she credits her high school French teacher for creating the spark that would eventually lead Carol to a lifelong passion of teaching French.

 

In 1964, while attending college at Kansas State Teachers College (now Pittsburg State University), Madame Smith signed up for a university-sponsored trip to France. When no other students signed up, she travelled alone to Paris, enrolled at Sorbonne University, and immersed herself in the culture. It was an era of true adventure. She emerged from that summer not just fluent in French, but with the realization that to learn the language and culture of someone else teaches you an appreciation and love for others, who might be different from you. That philosophy grounded the lessons she later taught to thousands of students.

 

Carol’s professional career began with a trial by fire in April 1965 at Eli Whitney Junior High in Tulsa. As a young, new teacher, she walked into a classroom that had driven off five previous French teachers. The seventh and eighth graders were tough, but Carol won them over with her creativity. She quickly learned that if you can teach a middle schooler, you can teach anyone.

 

In late 1965, Carol moved to Bartlesville to begin her twenty-six year tenure with Bartlesville Public Schools. From College High to Sooner High, and eventually Bartlesville High School, Madame Smith became a fixture of the district. She was a pioneer of the immersive language approach in which her upper level courses often only spoke French from the moment they entered her room. But her focus wasn’t just on the language; it was on Culture Days, cuisine, film, and art. She engaged her students through song, dance, and most of all through storytelling, believing that “when you tell stories, you can do anything.”

 

Her classroom was a place of joy and her international trips were life-changing for her students. Throughout her career, she led many students on treks across Europe, often in small groups to France, but one epic trip included forty students visiting five countries. Madame Smith taught them how to navigate and respect cultural differences.

 

Madame Smith’s impact is evidenced by the countless letters from students that she has kept over the years and her former students who have gone on to do wonderful things and stayed in touch with her. That includes famous authors like Rilla Askew, the “Pioneer Woman” Ree Drummond, local business owner Rebekah Dorris, and candidate for congress, Erik Terwey.

 

Recognition followed her dedication. She was named the “Favorite Teacher” in 1967 by her students, the 1993 Bartlesville High School Teacher of the Year by her peers, and subsequently the District Teacher of the Year. Even as she reached the pinnacle of her career, she remained a student herself. At age 55, she returned to Paris to live with a local family and study at the Center of International Languages, proving that a true educator is always seeking knowledge. She earned her Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction from OSU in 1995, and embraced new technology when asked to teach at-risk students about the early internet.

 

Though she officially retired in 2002 after teaching over 4,000 students, Carol’s retirement has been anything but quiet. She immediately began teaching English as a second language at the former Douglass School and the public library. Recently, she taught English to a Ukrainian refugee family in Bartlesville, continuing her mission of building bridges between cultures.

 

Beyond the classroom, Carol has shared 49 years of marriage with her husband, Edward Smith, whom she jokingly notes looked just like Omar Sharif when they met. Together they raised a family of four, including twins Sherry and Terry and two stepsons, Edward and Thomas. Today, she remains an active voice in the Washington County Retired Educators, the League of Women Voters, and the Washington County Democrats. Most of all, she enjoys spending time with her children and grandchildren.

 

In 2018, Carol faced her greatest challenge when she was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis and given a two-to-five-year prognosis. Characteristically, she met the news with discipline and research, starting a rigorous rehab program. Eight years later, her doctors are amazed at her improvement and no longer are willing to put a clock on her longevity.

 

As she reflects on her career, Madame Smith hopes that her legacy extends beyond teaching a world language. She taught her students the importance of loving other cultures and other people and both respecting and embracing differences.

 

Kay Walker

When Kay Walker retired in 2020, she left a legacy defined by the belief that there is a way to reach every child and, as a teacher, her job was to find it. To Mrs. Walker, each student was a potential success story waiting for the right spark. This belief, which runs deep through her forty-two years in education, is why we are celebrating Kay Walker along with two other retired Bartlesville Public Schools educators this March at the Bartlesville Public Schools Foundation’s Educator Hall of Fame.

 

Mrs. Walker was born and raised in Haskell, Oklahoma. At the age of thirteen, she dreamed of being a movie star. By sixteen, influenced by her father’s ministry, she thought she might be a missionary. When she was eighteen, having fallen in love with a college boy at Oklahoma State University, she discovered a career path that would serve her interests. Kay, with a characteristic blend of pragmatism and imagination, realized that as a teacher, she could be an actor, a role model, a story teller, and a mentor all at once, bringing passion and enthusiasm to her students. Her journey is a testament to the idea that teaching is not just a profession, but a lifelong mission of the heart.

 

Walker’s academic path included various Oklahoma institutions. She attended Oklahoma State University and the University of Tulsa before graduating in 1967 with a B.S. in Elementary Education and English from Northeastern State University, having done her student teaching at Hoover Elementary, establishing her connection with Bartlesville Public Schools.

 

Her first independent classroom was in the fourth grade at Hoover, where she stayed until she stepped back to care for her first son, Jason. She returned in 1974 to teach half-day kindergarten at Will Rogers Elementary and then fourth grade at Wayside Elementary until stepping back once more to care for her second son, Casey. Even when staying home with her children, she never fully left teaching. Kay helped manage the Tiny Tots arts and crafts program at First Presbyterian Church.  She served as a nearly full-time substitute at the various elementary schools across the district. In 1986, she found her permanent home at Wayside Elementary, where she would remain a fixture of the fourth-grade hall until her retirement in 2020 at the age of 75. A highlight of her time there was being recognized as Wayside’s Teacher of the Year in 2010.

 

Throughout her career, Kay’s drive to learn never wavered. Not only was she always looking for new ways to engage her students, she also continued her own education. In 1995, she earned her Master’s degree in School Administration from Northeastern State University, commuting to Tahlequah late at night after a full day of teaching, often returning home at 1:00 a.m. When she walked across the stage to receive her degree, her own children, now in college, watched with pride as their mother modeled the lifelong learning she preached.

 

Kay’s teaching philosophy was deceptively simple: “Find the fun first, then find the objective that the activity can meet.” In an era increasingly focused on standardized testing, Walker remained a champion of creativity. She believed that if a child was engaged, the learning would naturally follow. Her classroom was a place of sensory wonder. To teach about mountains, she once hauled a suitcase full of rocks back from vacation so students could physically grasp the magnitude of the earth. To teach collaboration and teamwork, she oversaw the construction of three-dimensional cardboard castles covered in salt dough and twinkling lights. When she taught Oklahoma history, the Land Run was not just a chapter in a book, but became an event filled with activities, characters, and costumes. Moreover, she often used her own funds to ensure that her students had the supplies they needed for her legendary projects.

 

In addition to the activities she led in her classroom throughout the year, including building volcanoes and folding origami cranes — her students once made over 1,000 cranes for a fellow teacher’s son battling leukemia — Kay’s influence extended to other programs. She spent many summers directing with Todd Rhoades the Pinwheels and Popcorn enrichment program that still exists today. Students have dissected cow eyeballs and sharks for decades thanks to Walker’s ideas.

 

Her creativity and enthusiasm has inspired countless students to achieve success. From a nurse at the hospital who credits her career to Kay’s science lessons, to the high school seniors who made a point to visit her room before graduation, her impact can be seen throughout the community.

 

Kay’s retirement in 2020 was marked by a COVID-related drive-by send off, where flowers and cards were tossed from car windows in a fittingly cinematic tribute to a woman who once dreamed of the silver screen.

 

Today, she remains as busy as ever.  She and her husband, John, visit their sons’ families in  Colorado and Washington state. When they are not travelling, Kay enjoys antiquing, reading, and staying connected with her former students and colleagues.

 

The Bartlesville Public Schools Foundation has been investing in Bartlesville Public Schools students and staff since 1985. Over the decades, the non-profit organization has funded more than $4.5 million in creative projects outside of the traditional state, local, and federal sources to support state-of-the-art instruction. The money generated by the Educator Hall of Fame event on March 26, 2026, will help fund the organization’s programs. Courtesy of the BPS Foundation and ConocoPhillips, a $1,000 grant in Mrs. Walker’s name will be given to Wayside Elementary for the purchase of an art kiln.

 

David Benne

Student engagement and encouragement defined David Benne’s fifty years of service as a teacher and coach. From the elementary classroom and the principal’s office to the science labs and basketball courts, David was dedicated to seeing potential where others might see problems.  Half a century as an educator, maintaining a positive attitude and prompting hands-on learning, earned Coach Benne the honor of being inducted into the Bartlesville Public Schools Foundation’s Educator Hall of Fame this March.

 

David was born in Colorado Springs and moved to Bartlesville with his family at the age of two.  His father worked for the Union Machine Shop and REDA Pump and his mom rose through the ranks from a nighttime custodian at the Adams Building to the supervisor of the mailroom. His childhood was filled with sports like basketball, baseball, and football until an injury, sustained during his sophomore year climbing a wooden fence at Custer Field, sidelined him. Fortunately for his future students, that injury allowed Benne to realize his passion for working with youth.  At sixteen, David started coaching Little League and discovered a gift that would lead him into a career in education.

 

After graduating from College High in 1962, David attended Northeastern State in Tahlequah, mostly by chance. It turned out to be the perfect fit. He found himself surrounded by an excellent elementary education program that fueled his passion for teaching and coaching. It was also at Northeastern where he met his wife, Carolyn. Although she was not too fond of him at first, David’s persistence won her over — a trait his future students would come to know well. David and Carolyn graduated on a Friday and were married on Saturday in a partnership that has endured sixty years.

 

In 1966, Benne started his first full-time teaching job at Highland Park Elementary in Bartlesville. He was twenty-three years old and tasked with managing a classroom of forty-two fifth graders. His job satisfaction came mostly from within, as he was only earning $5,100 a year, plus an extra $300 for “permanent recess duty.” He used the flag system still used today: green (all clear), yellow (stay on the pavement), and red (indoor recess only).  He proudly recalled that there was rarely a red flag day on his watch. Kids played outside whether it was rain, snow, or shine.

After five years at Highland Park, Benne moved into administration, serving as the principal at Washington Elementary and later at Wayside. At Washington, he worked with some tough kids and great teachers, reflecting fondly on field trips to the Osage Hills where they would load students into the back of a pickup truck on their way out of town.

 

After several years in administration, David missed the impact of the classroom and the adrenaline of the sidelines, and he preferred grading students over teachers. So in 1984 he made the move that would define the next twenty years of his life: he took on the role of eighth grade Earth Science teacher and a basketball coach at Madison Middle School. It was there that Coach Benne became a legend. His classroom management style was clear: he would capture his students’ attention and earn their respect. He was fun and engaging, starting every day with a class joke; but along with the humor, he maintained a supportive presence and high expectations.

 

David was not a fan of heavy homework but promoted hands-on exploration. He famously built hovercrafts out of decking sheets and leaf blowers, zooming his students down the hallways of Madison, only limited by the length of the extension cords. They also built and launched rockets, a project that inspired at least one former student to pursue a career in aeronautics. That student still sends David photos of the rockets she works on, inspired by the projects in her 8th grade science lab.

 

On the court, David was just as influential. Whether coaching ninth grade girls basketball or serving as an assistant coach for the Lady Bruins alongside fellow Hall of Famer, Gerald Thompson, Coach Benne pushed his athletes to be disciplined and hard-working.

 

Teaching is a family affair for the Bennes. His wife worked in office administration for the district, and his son, Scott, followed in his footsteps, becoming a teacher and football coach. His sister, brother-in-law, nieces, and nephews are all educators. This legacy of service likely stems from David’s own hero: his father, a World War II veteran who helped liberate a concentration camp. His father’s service left a lasting impression on Benne about the importance of dedication and commitment.

 

Even after “retiring” from BPS in 2000, David could not stay away. He spent several years at St. John Catholic School and continued substitute teaching well into his 70s. Now he keeps busy antiquing, collecting license plates and baseball hats, taking care of his wife’s feral cat, and going to the gym, although he admits he mostly goes for the massage chairs.  He also loves spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren: Trent, Regan, and Katey.

 

When David reflects on over fifty years in education, he doesn’t talk about the administrative certificates or the Master’s degree. Instead, he talks about the students who still stop him around town to tell him how he changed their lives. Mr. Benne taught more than just Earth Science; he taught his students how to work hard, dream big, and, occasionally, how to fly down a hallway on a leaf blower.