As a product of the Arkansas Tech University health and physical education program and an experienced teacher, Lindsay Robinson Beaton has learned to find the gift in every child.
“When I first started teaching archery, I had a little boy in class…he was always nervous to be around his peers because he was just not as athletically gifted as they were,” said Beaton. “He had never shot a bow. He had never been around it, but he learned it here and he became the best archer in our class. Every kid is not going to be fabulous at everything, but every kid will have something they are great at.”
That approach led the Outdoors Tomorrow Foundation to name Beaton, physical education teacher at DeWitt Elementary School, its 2025 national educator of the year.
Beaton graduated from Arkansas Tech in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science degree in health and physical education and in 2006 with a Master of Education degree in physical education.
“My time in the HPE department at Tech taught me to truly focus on teaching the whole child and that physical education classes aren’t just the stepping stones needed for playing sports and participating in lifetime activities as a student grows, but that what we teach is truly a developmental and necessary part of a student’s life,” said Beaton. “The proper development of locomotor and manipulative skills helps a child strengthen their neural pathways and fosters cognitive growth.
“I was also taught to learn about the community where you teach and find ways to tie in your community with your physical education classroom,” continued Beaton. “I do believe Mrs. Jeanie Strasner told me to ‘bloom where I was planted,’ and that has stuck with me. I was taught that with hard work and support from my community, any program could flourish no matter where it is located. My community and my students are the reason I started teaching outdoor education at DeWitt Elementary.”
Beaton fondly recalls the friendly competition she had with Elizabeth Bowles (who became Dr. Elizabeth Sharp and had a distinguished career as a higher education physical education faculty member) and Jonathan Buffalo (who is now a coach at Centerpoint High School) to earn the best grades in the ATU health and physical education department.
“We were each other’s biggest competitors for grades, but also each other’s biggest supporters in every class we had together,” said Beaton.
Delta Zeta, Tech Sweethearts, Baptist Collegiate Ministry and student athletic training were some of Beaton’s favorite activities away from the classroom at ATU. She counts Dr. Annette Holeyfield, Dr. Shelia Jackson, Jeanie Strasner and Dr. Shellie Hanna as some of her most important mentors from the Arkansas Tech faculty.
“The leadership and guidance these women gave me is unmeasurable,” said Beaton.
Beaton became the physical education teacher at DeWitt Elementary in the fall after completing her master’s degree at Arkansas Tech and has been there ever since.
A new opportunity presented itself in 2021 when she received an e-mail from the Outdoors Tomorrow Foundation with information about the organization’s K-12 outdoor education curriculum, which serves more than 160,000 students in more than 1,500 schools each year while reaching all 50 U.S. states and international students.
Beaton asked Will Hafner from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission about the outdoor education program, and upon his recommendation, she began implementing the lessons in her classroom.
“I love teaching outdoor activities,” said Beaton. “Kids inherently love nature, and they love being outside. The more they are exposed to it, the more they are going to be outside.”
Rock climbing, duck calling, duck migration, archery, camping and fishing are among the outdoor education topics Beaton covers with her students.
“Mrs. Lindsay is the best,” said Bobbie Lynn Steeland, DeWitt Elementary School principal. “I have to actually slow her down because of all the things she wants to do with the program. The outdoor curriculum really helped broaden the things our kids get to do.”
Beaton, who was also named 2024-25 DeWitt School District teacher of the year and the 2024 SHAPE Arkansas elementary physical education teacher of the year, was among nine educators selected to the newly-formed Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Teacher Leader Council in December 2024. Her service on the council will provide her with opportunities to help other educators add outdoor education to their lesson plans.
“I want my legacy as a teacher to be that I cared for my students,” said Beaton. “I think it’s so important that all of our kids get to experience this and all of our students get to participate. They all get to have fun, and I want them to remember that.”
Editor’s note: This story originally appeared in the fall 2025 edition of the Tech Action magazine from the Arkansas Tech University Alumni Association. Visit techactionline.com to view the complete issue.
