Mary Aline Flaniken
Fayette County Public Schools is proud to recognize our school-level and district-level Teachers of the Year for the 2022-2023 school term. These honorees represent the many FCPS teachers who prioritize the needs of all children and who devote their professional lives to enriching the lives of students. When you see an educator, please be sure to congratulate them and thank them for their service.
Mrs. Mary-Aliene Flaniken is a veteran educator in Fayette County Public Schools, where she has taught for the past forty-two years. She teaches Music PreK through fifth grade at Buckley-Carpenter Elementary School. Mrs. Flaniken attended the University of Tennessee at Martin where she earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and an Endorsement of Elementary Education. She has been married for 42 years and has two daughters and four grandchildren. Besides music, she enjoys sewing and baking. She has lived in Fayette County all her life and this is home.
Mrs. Flaniken states, “I have always had a passion for and enjoyed working with children. That, combined with my deep love of music, created the perfect avenue for my music education career. It was a calling I followed to teach and expose students to the majesty of music. It is my ministry and mission to influence young minds with a wide range of music and music history. Music has played an important role in every human being's life, regardless of where they live. I am proud to have spent decades sharing and teaching students various cultures of music education.”
One of Mrs. Flaniken’s favorite things about teaching is being able to mentor and share in their growth experiences in music and life each year. Every class and young student is unique and talented in their own way. She views it as a challenge to help them identify and exploit their personal gifts and talents. One advantage she has, as an auxiliary teacher, is that she sees the children each year from preschool through fifth grade. Music is part of everyone's life and affects all aspects of their lives. When her students sing and aren't afraid to speak in front of the entire school plus parents and perform with such emotion, it is truly a thing of beauty for Mrs. Flaniken personally, spiritually, and emotionally. She loves her job of 42 years and loves each and every student who passes through her doors. She always states that her love for students is the reason she chose to teach.
“When I started teaching in Fayette County Schools, we did not have an elementary music program.” stated Mrs. Flaniken. “The superintendent at the time, Dr. Callicut, called me and discussed getting a program started. The new high school was being built so he wanted to start with the older students. In 1982, I started traveling and teaching music to fifth through eighth graders in all eight elementary schools. After many years of traveling, we now have a music teacher in each school. I'm proud and privileged to have had the administration have confidence in me to plan and establish the elementary music program in Fayette County Schools.”
Mary Aline Flaniken
Fayette County Public Schools is proud to recognize our school-level and district-level Teachers of the Year for the 2022-2023 school term. These honorees represent the many FCPS teachers who prioritize the needs of all children and who devote their professional lives to enriching the lives of students. When you see an educator, please be sure to congratulate them and thank them for their service.
Mrs. Mary-Aliene Flaniken is a veteran educator in Fayette County Public Schools, where she has taught for the past forty-two years. She teaches Music PreK through fifth grade at Buckley-Carpenter Elementary School. Mrs. Flaniken attended the University of Tennessee at Martin where she earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and an Endorsement of Elementary Education. She has been married for 42 years and has two daughters and four grandchildren. Besides music, she enjoys sewing and baking. She has lived in Fayette County all her life and this is home.
Mrs. Flaniken states, “I have always had a passion for and enjoyed working with children. That, combined with my deep love of music, created the perfect avenue for my music education career. It was a calling I followed to teach and expose students to the majesty of music. It is my ministry and mission to influence young minds with a wide range of music and music history. Music has played an important role in every human being's life, regardless of where they live. I am proud to have spent decades sharing and teaching students various cultures of music education.”
One of Mrs. Flaniken’s favorite things about teaching is being able to mentor and share in their growth experiences in music and life each year. Every class and young student is unique and talented in their own way. She views it as a challenge to help them identify and exploit their personal gifts and talents. One advantage she has, as an auxiliary teacher, is that she sees the children each year from preschool through fifth grade. Music is part of everyone's life and affects all aspects of their lives. When her students sing and aren't afraid to speak in front of the entire school plus parents and perform with such emotion, it is truly a thing of beauty for Mrs. Flaniken personally, spiritually, and emotionally. She loves her job of 42 years and loves each and every student who passes through her doors. She always states that her love for students is the reason she chose to teach.
“When I started teaching in Fayette County Schools, we did not have an elementary music program.” stated Mrs. Flaniken. “The superintendent at the time, Dr. Callicut, called me and discussed getting a program started. The new high school was being built so he wanted to start with the older students. In 1982, I started traveling and teaching music to fifth through eighth graders in all eight elementary schools. After many years of traveling, we now have a music teacher in each school. I'm proud and privileged to have had the administration have confidence in me to plan and establish the elementary music program in Fayette County Schools.”