The winners in each of four employee categories for St. Lucie Public Schools were announced at the annual Night of the Stars gala celebration February 23 at Lincoln Park Academy. The recognition program is sponsored by the St. Lucie County Education Foundation and the school board.
Fort Pierce Central High School 32-year veteran math teacher and coach Harry B. Williams was named 2014 Teacher of the Year, and Palm Point Educational Research School at Tradition plant manager Eric Henik, who has been in that position since the school opened five years ago, was named 2013 School Related Employee of the Year. Both of these district representatives will move on to regional consideration for the state honors in their categories. The Teacher of the Year distinction is historically for the year after the selection due to the year of service for the state in the following school year. The Morganti Group sponsors the award for Teacher of the Year, and the St. Lucie Education Foundation sponsors the School Related Employee of the Year award.
Amanda Hayes, second grade teacher at Samuel S. Gaines Academy, was announced as the 2013 Outstanding First Year Teacher, and Roderick Johnson, ninth grade dean from Fort Pierce Central High School, is the 2013 Distinguished Minority Educator of the Year. These two categories are local recognitions. Spherion Recruiting and Staffing sponsors the Outstanding First Year Teacher award, and Keiser University sponsors the Distinguished Minority Educator of the Year award.
Pictured, from left, are Harry Williams, Roderick Johnson, Amanda Hayes and Eric Henik.
Also honored were Ucola Barrett-Baxter from Parkway Elementary, Principal of the Year, and susan Seal of Fort Pierce Central High, Assistant Principal of the Year.
Other finalists for Teacher of the Year include Loryn Black, first grade teacher at Fairlawn Elementary School, and Lt. Colonel Joseph J. Cavallaro, Air Force JROTC senior instructor at Treasure Coast High School.
Other finalists for School Related Employee of the Year were Stephanie Ludwig, Exceptional Student Education paraprofessional at Floresta Elementary School, and Patricia Sorrell, interpreter for deaf and hard of hearing students at Oak Hammock K8 School.
Schools and district departments annually may nominate an employee at their site for the appropriate categories. Selection committees comprised of former honorees, teachers, and school and district administrators reviewed applications of the nominees for each category and interviewed applicants for the state honors. Three finalists in the Teacher of the Year and School Related Employee of the Year categories were selected, and surprise visits announced those finalists.
From school sites, nominees included for Teacher of the Year (TOY), School Related Employee of the Year (SREY), Distinguished Minority Educator of the Year (DMEY) and Outstanding First Year Teacher (OFYT), were:
• Allapattah Flats K-8, TOY Ann Hartman, SREY Carlyn Marshall, DMEY Edwina Taylor, and OFYT Melissa Nelson
• Bayshore Elementary, TOY Yvonne Kay De Aguiar, SREY John Britt, DMEY Annette Hawkins, and OFYT Jonathan Cruz
• C.A. Moore Elementary, TOY Heather Gray, SREY Sarah Williams, DMEY Beverly Harris, and OFYT Talea Burgess
• Dale Cassens Education Complex, TOY Cheryl Ellison, SREY Lee Darden, DMEY Annette Gooden, and OFYT John Coy
• Dan McCarty School, TOY Kevin Garbers, SREY Yadira Gonzalez, DMEY Rommel Rivers, and OFYT Jeremiah Best
• Fairlawn Elementary, TOY Loryn Black, SREY Sandra Kent, DMEY Farida Chowdhury, and OFYT Jeannine Johannes
• Floresta Elementary, TOY Stephanie Castro, SREY Stephanie Ludwig, DMEY Elizabeth Paradoa, and OFYT Jaclyn Kraus
• Forest Grove Middle, TOY Leslie Parker-Earll, SREY Katiuska Valencia, DMEY Bradley Esau, and OFYT Colleen Wilson
• Fort Pierce Central High, TOY Harry B. Williams, SREY Eva Wortham, and DMEY Roderick Johnson,
• Ft. Pierce Magnet School of Arts, TOY Carey Saine, SREY Lynda Kangas, DMEY Lillian Athill, and OFYT Tionne Simmons
• Fort Pierce Westwood High, TOY Robert Beasley, SREY Debra Bowling, DMEY Monarae Buchanan, and OFYT Elizabeth Raasch
• Frances K. Sweet Elementary, TOY Christy Nuccio, SREY Jacqueline Foster, and DMEY Melissa King
• Garden City Early Learning Academy, TOY Shannon Dolan, SREY Devon Averyt, and DMEY Alexandra Laoutas
• Lakewood Park Elementary, TOY Jodi Hargreaves, SREY Stacey Carter, DMEY Nicole Verner, and OFYT Alyssa Tretter
• Lawnwood Elementary, TOY Carolyn Bates, SREY Mary Lewis, DMEY Mariann Davis,and OFYT Kimberly Colvin
• Lincoln Park Academy, TOY Beth Cue, SREY Wendall Adams, DMEY Cesar Figueroa, and OFYT Josie Cappelletti
• Manatee Academy K-8, TOY Vincent Scotto, SREY Marissa Parker, and OFYT Elena Keriazis
• Mariposa Elementary, TOY Monica Alameida, SREY Cathy Smith, DMEY Adriana Roberts, and OFYT Allison Pozo
• Morningside Elementary, TOY Jacqueline Clark, SREY Cherry McKenzie, and OFYT Ryan Prue
• Northport K-8, TOY Jennifer Carey, SREY Kathleen Egan, DMEY Marie Solide, and OFYT Angel Bracero
• Oak Hammock K-8, TOY Karen Rinelli, SREY Patty Sorrell, DMEY Flavia Valente, and OFYT Michael Shields
• Palm Pointe Education Research School at Tradition, TOY Meredith Andrus, SREY Eric Henik, DMEY Carline Jean, and OFYT Jennifer Gomez
• Parkway Elementary, TOY Jennifer Czajak, SREY Susan DiFruscio, DMEY Michelle Ramdowe, and OFYT James Alexander
• Port St. Lucie High School, TOY Michael Mimnaugh, SREY Maryann Nollinger, DMEY Demetrius Lane, and OFYT Alissa Becker
• Rivers Edge Elementary, TOY Amy Martinkovic, SREY Ann Marangio, and OFYT Sheena Thiefault-Proctor
• Samuel S. Gaines Academy K-8, TOY Lenaiah Wood, SREY Donella Crenshaw, DMEY Stephanie Collins, and OFYT Amanda Hayes
• St. Lucie Elementary, TOY Emily Barrie, SREY Sarah Smith-Mills, DMEY Andrea Oliver-Thomas, and OFYT Melissa Garwol
• St. Lucie West K-8, TOY Claudia Martin-Vegue, SREY Stephen Canton, and OFYT Sophia Yancy
• St. Lucie West Centennial High, TOY Elizabeth Durkee, SREY Christopher Holman, DMEY Jose Rodriguez, and OFYT Stephanie Gaffney
• Savanna Ridge Elementary, TOY Rebecca Petrie, SREY Bob Andrade, and DMEY Jesse Bosque
• Southern Oaks Middle, TOY Carnell Plowden, SREY Joe Matthews, DMEY Jose Rivero, and OFYT Kelly McLaughlin
• Southport Middle, TOY Kimberly Nicholas, SREY Steven Miller, DMEY Yolanda Parks, and OFYT Morgan Kellogg
• Treasure Coast High, TOY Lt. Colonel Joseph J. Cavallaro, SREY Diane Evans, DMEY Sgt. Melvin Simmons, and OFYT Kristin Sample
• Village Green Environmental Studies School, TOY Laura Ellis, SREY Patrick Hayes, DMEY Sherri Brown, and OFYT Heather Concepcion
• Weatherbee Elementary, TOY Melanie Macpherson, SREY Louise Lucia, DMEY Jennifer Nelson, and OFYT Bryan Lee
• West Gate K-8, TOY Easter Weathers, SREY Autherine Jethroe, DMEY Ayesha Boria, and OFYT Christopher Edgecombe
• White City Elementary, TOY Tara Sekerchak, SREY Linda Neill, DMEY Ashley McGahee, and OFYT Amanda Dewey
• Windmill Point Elementary, TOY Melissa Lucrezia, SREY Jan Turgeson, DMEY Melissa San Martin, and OFYT Jacqueline Davis
From district departments, nominees for SREY include:
• Business Services, Cheryl Dempsey
• Information Technology Services, Judy Hamm
• Curriculum and Instruction, Janis Conkle
• Student Services, Valarie Watkins
• Superintendent’s Office, Charmaine Martin-Brooks
• Facilities and Transportation, Willie Freeman
• Federal Programs, Rose Henson