Four Duval County teachers with a combined experience of 100 years in the classroom were recently surprised with $17,000 checks.
They were the winners of the 2026 Gladys Prior Awards for Career Teaching Excellence, founded by philanthropist Gilchrist Berg in honor of his fourth-grade teacher at Ortega Elementary School.
The awards were administered by the University of North Florida Silverfield College of Education and Human Services. Dean Stephen Dittmore visited the four teachers’ classrooms with oversized checks in hand.
“Gilchrist Berg’s continued commitment to award our local educators for lifelong teaching excellence is inspirational,” he said.
This year’s winners were:
Farrell and Kirton are alumni of UNF, while Ledford completed the university’s educator prep program.
Berg, president and founder of Water Street Capital, created the awards in 1998. His intent was to honor teachers with “lifelong careers in education” and he has since given such educators about $2 million, according to UNF.
bcravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4109
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Surprised at their schools, here are the Gladys Prior Award teachers
Reporting by Beth Reese Cravey, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
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