Faculty & Staff Spotlight
Like and Share to help us recognize another one of our amazing Teachers at Christ the King Lutheran School, Ann Laury.
Ann is a native Memphian with deep Christ the King roots. Not only is she a Christ the King Lutheran School alum, but she also got to see CTK’s Church go up. Ann is also a graduate of the Memphis State University (Go Tigers!).
Ann is talented outside of the classroom too. She was a multisport athlete and she was offered a piano scholarship to Rhodes College, but she stayed true to her Memphis State roots. At the University of Memphis, she studied criminology before switching to education.
This is Ann’s 33rd year in education and her 7th year as head of school at CTK. All three of Ann’s children graduated from CTK, and she treats every student on campus like one of her own. Ann emphasized that her goal as head of school is to “Celebrate and empathize with the students.” She explained that she must, “reinforce their sense of belonging and model appropriate Christian behavior” because these values are a cornerstone to the philosophy at Christ the King Lutheran School.
Like and Share to help us recognize another one of our amazing Teachers at Christ the King Lutheran School, Lorene Beaudry.
Lorene is the Early Childhood Director at Christ the King Lutheran School. She grew up in the Pacific Northwest, in a small town near Spokane, Washington. She got her BA at the University of Idaho. However, she has been a Memphian since 1993. She served 14 wonderful years as a three-year old teacher, and in that time, she even taught principal Laury’s daughter.
During her time at Christ The King Lutheran School, she says that she fell in love with the teachers, staff, pastors, and families. When asked how she ended up at CTK school, she admits that sometimes you are just guided to where “God wants you to go. Sometimes it’s a surprising journey, but in the end you find a place like Christ the King which is the ‘right’ place.”
Lorene says that her favorite part of Christ the King Lutheran School is the ministry and family environment. In her time as a preschool teacher, she really valued the connections she made with the kids. She says that the kids have “so much love to give.” Mrs. Beaudry is constantly amazed by how many people tell her that they love the school too. She says that Christ the King Lutheran School is a special place, “it’s a little school with a big heart.”
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Kara’s family has strong Lutheran roots. Her father is a Lutheran pastor. She attended a Lutheran school from grades 1-9 at which time her father’s work brought her to Memphis from Houston, Texas. She completed high school at Collierville High School. After high school, Kara attended Concordia University where she majored in English. For CTK, Kara teaches Grammar, Literature, and Religion in the Middle School. She also coaches 4th-6th grade girls basketball, helps assemble the yearbook, and creates newsletters for the school.
This is Kara’s first year working at CTK Lutheran School. She said she was drawn to CTK because she loved the family feel and the strong sense of community.
When asked why she became a teacher, Kara explained that she loves helping people. She loves getting her students to that “lightbulb moment”. Kara has known that she was going to teach ever since 2nd grade! She said that she was inspired by her 2nd grade teacher who brought the same kind of passion and enthusiasm for her student’s learning that she teaches with now. She keeps her students engaged by surprising them with hands on activities and pushes her students by letting them try things for themselves. Kara wants CTK to know that she is “committed to being a lifelong learner” and wants to lead her students by example.
On behalf of the CTK Lutheran School family, thank you Kara Harbin!
Like and Share to congratulate our awesome teachers!
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