Davis Awards for Excellence in Teaching Given to Peyton Chunn and Janet Buford
Established in 1992, the Davis Awards for Excellence in Teaching are presented each year to selected Episcopal School of Jacksonville teachers who personify quality in their teaching and in their influence on student learning; who consistently and unselfishly go above and beyond normal expectations of time, energy and devotion in working with students; who demonstrate the rare ability to motivate students to higher and higher levels of achievement; and who have consistently made use of opportunities for continuing education to improve themselves professionally. This award is intended to inspire all Episcopal teachers to pursue uncompromising excellence and caring in the classroom. To be eligible to receive the Davis Award for Excellence in Teaching, a teacher must have been a member of the faculty for three years and must be returning the following year. At least one award each year must be awarded to a teacher whose primary focus is the Middle School.
Middle School
The 2024 Davis Award for Excellence in Teaching in Middle School was awarded to Peyton Chunn. Peyton is an English teacher who also serves National Junior Honor society as a faculty advisor.
Her nominations include the following:
“Peyton is a caring and compassionate teacher and colleague…For her students, she’s an incredibly engaged teacher who always keeps her students’ well-being and growth at the forefront of her work with thoughtful, clear, constructively challenging lesson plans which
she consistently infuses with her quick humor and sense of perspective. They know she expects their best and she teaches them to rise to the occasion. All the while, they also know that she’s a source of good counsel and guidance.”
As a colleague, Peyton is “a model of organization and thoughtful planning, a mentor for other faculty, an eager and generous collaborator, both as leader and listener.”
“Peyton also is dedicated to her own personal growth as a teacher, attending conferences and workshops on her own time. She brought the English faculty’s attention to the Right Questions
Institute offered through Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and several were inspired to join her in attending it.”
Peyton and her husband, Doug ’97, have three children enrolled at Episcopal: Knight ’33, Sadie Mae ’32, and Adelaide ’29.
Upper School
Janet Buford, science teacher and New Teacher Mentoring Program Coordinator, won the 2024 Davis Award for Excellence in Teaching for Upper School. Janet also received the award in 1993, in addition to the Timothy Award in 2005. She has taught at Episcopal for more than 40 years. Janet has served the school as a cheer coach, and she is a Cum Laude faculty member.
Janet’s nominations read:
“I know that the care and time Janet offers to her coworkers is mirrored in the care and time she gives to her students, too. She tirelessly supports her students of all ability levels, and she is
constantly striving to give them the best and most equitable experience in her classroom.”
“Janet is continually challenging herself to grow as an educator, too. Though it would be easy for someone with Janet’s expertise to simply sit back on their laurels, she does the opposite. Two summers ago, for example, she earned a Lastinger grant and traveled to Mexico to take part in the Baja Ecology for Educators research project, a trip that she told all of us took her far outside of her comfort zone.”
“I am inspired by the joy that Janet finds in teaching after such a long and storied career. I know
that she cultivates this continued joy by creatively approaching each year and tirelessly tweaking her approaches to meet the needs of her students and their curiosity…I am inspired by her bravery and sense of adventure…I am inspired by the relationships that she cultivates with her students and advisees.”
“I am inspired by the vision that Janet has for our faculty. Janet has brought her many talents to the New Faculty Mentor program. Every single aspect of this program is thoughtfully executed. Janet continues to be a mentor for me. She is an exemplar of a teacher in any stage of their career.”
Janet and her husband, Kevin, have two alumni children – Lucas ’14 and Thompson ’18.