James C. Kapteyn Endowment Fund Grant

The James C. Kapteyn Endowment Fund, established in 2009, honors the legacy of dedicated educator Jamie Kapteyn. This fund recognizes exemplary high school teachers in the Berkshire Taconic region, offering the annual Kapteyn Prize to those who inspire students and excel in various school roles. Winners are encouraged to use the funds for personal enrichment, enhancing their teaching impact. Nominations are accepted from school leaders for teachers committed to fostering excellence in education.

Grant Information
The James C. Kapteyn Endowment Fund was established in 2009 to honor the memory of James Cornelius Kapteyn, who dedicated his days and nights as a high school teacher to embodying the idea that, in the words of William Butler Yeats, "Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire.” Jamie died on January 16, 2007, at age 45 while playing indoor soccer with friends and colleagues from Deerfield Academy, his alma mater. Jamie taught English at Deerfield for seven years and was the sophomore class dean, the girls varsity soccer and boys varsity lacrosse coach, and a faculty resident in a boys’ dormitory. Jamie resided in the dormitory with his wife, Kirsten, of 18 years, and his two daughters, Ingrid and Ilse (Deerfield Classes of 2009 and 2012, respectively).
The fund provides an annual Kapteyn Prize to a public or private high school teacher who exemplifies excellence in an array of roles within their school community (e.g., teaching, mentoring, coaching) and exhibits outstanding character traits.
Winners are expected to use the money to enrich themselves as individuals and thereby as teachers, to stimulate and nourish their own intellects and sensibilities through new experience, for example, study or travel. By feeding their own souls, winners will bring fresh inspiration and insight to their students and colleagues. The recipient is solely responsible for any tax consequences arising from receipt of the prize payment.

Eligibility

The Kapteyn Prize is awarded to candidates who are currently teaching grades 9 through 12, who have made a career commitment to high school teaching of at least seven years, and whose excellence in and passion for teaching and learning inspire their students to excel, in the model of the late James C.A Kapteyn Prize candidate must be first and foremost a classroom teacher of exemplary character, who specializes in a curricular discipline, including those in the visual and performing arts and other special study programs. Candidates must also guide their students by serving other important roles within the school community such as coaches, advisors, tutors and administrators, art directors, and/or as dormitory parents.Principals and Heads of School may nominate an outstanding educator who meets the vision of the fund.Following nomination by a principal or head of school, applications will be invited from teachers in public or private schools in the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation region and Franklin County, Massachusetts. Nominations are accepted from schools whose nominated teachers have not received the Kapteyn Prize in the previous three years.

Ineligibility

Prize winners are discouraged from contributing the money, or goods or services purchased with it, to a third party, as a charitable donation.Berkshire Taconic does not support organizations which in their constitution, by-laws, or practice, discriminate against a person or group on the basis of age, race, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation or religious belief.