Traer resident and Waterloo Career Center culinary arts instructor Tracey Hulme pictured recently after being announced as one of 10 recipients of this year’s Gold Star Outstanding Teacher award. PHOTO COURTESY OF WATERLOO SCHOOLS/FACEBOOK

WATERLOO – North Tama High School graduate and Traer resident Tracey Hulme has been named a ‘Gold Star’ teacher in Black Hawk County.

Last week, KWWL and the R.J. McElroy Trust announced the 10 recipients of the 2024 Gold Star Outstanding Teacher award including Hulme who works as a culinary arts instructor at the Waterloo Career Center (WCC) which is part of the Waterloo Community School District.

“What I love to do at work is exactly what I love to do. In my free time, I love to entertain. I delight in feeding guests, setting up a theme, serving them, and making them feel happy and cared for,” Hulme said in the fall of 2019 of her position at WCC as part of a Waterloo Community School District Facebook post. “As the culinary instructor at the Waterloo Career Center, I prepare kids to work in the culinary industry. I teach them the art of preparation, cooking, and the presentation of food. I teach them to entertain. I get to work with students in a state of the art commercial kitchen, preparing them for working in an industry that I’ve fallen in love with.”

Hulme graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a degree in family and consumer economics. Prior to WCC, Hulme taught family and consumer sciences (FCS) at West High, Hudson Community School District, and Montezuma Community School District.

For this year’s 36th annual Gold Star Outstanding Teacher awards, the McElroy Trust received 750 nominations for 360 teachers within Black Hawk County. Teachers were nominated by students, parents, community members, and colleagues.

According to KWWL, the 10 winners including Hulme “represent the hundreds of teachers who rise above the everyday standards to help students achieve their fullest potential.”

Each Gold Star recipient will receive a $1,000 honorarium, while the McElroy Trust will also award each teacher $1,000 to go towards their classrooms.

The 2024 Gold Star Outstanding Teacher award ceremony will be held on Tuesday, May 14, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center in Cedar Falls. The event is free and open to the public.

Below are all 10 of this year’s Gold Star winners:

Jed Batterson: Aldrich Elementary, 4th Grade

Tiffany Evans: Irving Elementary, Librarian

Timothy Hopper: Central Middle School, Social Studies

Andrea Hottle: Hudson Elementary, 2nd Grade

Tracey Hulme: Waterloo Career Center, Culinary

Jennifer Schlader: Lowell Early Childhood Center, Pre-K

Christopher Tims: Waterloo East High School, History

Megann Tresemer: Holmes Jr. High School, English

Chad Van Cleve: Cedar Falls High School, Social Studies

Kelli Zimmerman: Immaculate Conception School, English Language Arts