A teaching career was far from Lorraine Lange’s mind when she arrived on Roanoke College’s campus as a freshman from New Jersey. Though she majored in psychology, she decided to earn a license to teach, which required her to spend some time in a classroom as a student teacher.
“Once I got in with the kids, I knew that that was something I wanted to do,” Lange said.
Now, she is superintendent of Roanoke County Public Schools and has about 42 years of educational experience under her belt, first as a special education and kindergarten teacher and later as an administrator and adjunct professor.
Lange, a 1969 graduate of Roanoke College, received one of the college’s top teaching honors this week. She is the winner of the Margaret Sue Copenhaver Contribution to Education Award and which was presented to her during a luncheon this week at Roanoke College.
Each year, administrators of the Margaret Sue Copenhaver Institute for Teaching and Learning choose a successful educator who shows the same passion for teaching children as Copenhaver, a retired teacher from Richmond.
Copenhaver’s sister, Helen Hanes, through an endowed gift, started the MSCI for Teaching and Learning, a three-day training program for teachers. The sessions, held at Roanoke College earlier this week, included workshops, technology sessions, discussions and special speakers.
About 100 teachers and administrators from Virginia and other states participated in this year’s institute.
Lange arose as a worthy candidate for the Copenhaver honor, because she is a Roanoke College alum with a track record in education for a variety of levels, including college instruction, said Dr. Leslie Murrill, an associate professor of education at Roanoke College and co-director of the MSCI. Lange has worked as an adjunct professor at several area colleges and universities, including Roanoke.
“She has been dedicated to high quality education,” Murrill said.
