Beltsville educator wins outstanding teacher award

Math teacher recognized after 35 years of service

‘‘They were trying to keep it from me,” she said. ‘‘I don’t like attention at all. When I found out, I said ‘absolutely not,’ but they said ‘Kell, don’t even go there. It’s too late.’”

Kell, who serves as the head of the Beltsville school’s math department, said she tries to bring an elementary school teacher’s personal touch to the hectic middle school setting.

While she doesn’t covet the attention, Kell said she felt truly honored that her co-workers went through the trouble of nominating her.

‘‘It’s special and I do appreciate it,” she said. ‘‘It’s always nice to be recognized by your colleagues.”

Principal Robin Wiltison said that regardless of what Kell thought, the nomination needed to be made.

‘‘Celeste is so deserving,” she said. ‘‘It’s long overdue. I never doubted that she’d win. A teacher like Celeste is very rare.”

Kell was an elementary school teacher in the county for 23 years before coming to MLK in 1997.

‘‘I thought going from elementary to middle was going to be a huge jump,” she said. ‘‘I guess you see that children are the same no matter what their age. I see how important it is that you’re fair to them. If they don’t think they’re being treated fairly, no matter how much information you share with them, it’s not going to stick. They won’t even listen.”

Another reason she was able to adapt so quickly to teaching middle school was her three children, Ryan, 27, Lindsey, 25, and Katie, 23, all attended MLK.

‘‘I tell parents that before I started teaching middle school, I was a middle school parent,” she said. ‘‘I remember some of the things I didn’t appreciate. I try to remember what it’s like from a parent’s standpoint.”

That experience plays a large role in Kell’s ability to help seventh-graders make the often-tumultuous move to middle school.

Gail Hemphill of Beltsville remembers how Kell helped her daughter Lindsey transition to middle school in 2000.

‘‘Lindsey had a real hard time that year,” Hemphill said. ‘‘If it wasn’t for Mrs. Kell she would have sunk. Lindsey knew she was there for her. She’d go after school and talk to her. She was like a second mom. The transition is so tough, but if you have Mrs. Kell you don’t have to worry. ‘‘

Lindsey, now 21 and attending James Madison University in Virginia, still maintains a friendship with Kell.

Hemphill’s youngest son Andrew, 13, is currently in Kell’s math class, and her son, Samuel, 17, had Kell as his homeroom teacher in seventh grade.

‘‘She gives the kids a real warm feeling,” she said. ‘‘She really cares about them and she gets to know them. It’s not just the kids who love her. The teachers love her and the parents love her.”

For Kell, that type of dedication often extends well beyond the school day, and in many cases beyond the school week. She stays late several days a week, and runs an after-school program called two-to-four, where eighth-graders tutor younger students in math. She often comes in to catch up on work after church on Sundays as well.

‘‘The kids are lucky and we’re lucky to have shared this educational experience with someone of this caliber,” Wiltison said. ‘‘She honestly cares about everything she touches, every activity, every student and every parent. She’s going to make sure the opportunities for success are provided.”

E-mail Jonah Schuman at jschuman@gazette.net.