Twelve teachers and support staff members received welcome surprises today as representatives of the Hopkins Foundation went from school to school, dropping off a total of $27,000 cash along their way.
Michelle Hopkins-Molinaro, secretary and manager of the foundation, presented the awards in front of all-school assemblies at the schools involved.
The Star Performer and WOW Awards were established by Molinaro’s grandparents, E.L. and Irene Hopkins, to recognize outstanding performances of Emporia teachers and school support staff. Molinaro said that the awards were a dream of her grandfather, who was especially fond of children and education.
A total of 93 people now have received the awards, which total $206,000, according to information from the Emporia school district.
Molinaro and her father, Ken Hopkins, accompanied by other family members and foundation associates, began presenting the awards this morning at Emporia Middle School and continued to other schools throughout the afternoon.
Each stopover included a special video prepared by Carol Krueger, wife of foundation attorney Tom Krueger, who awarded oversized checks to each winner.
Star awards were presented to teachers “who are innovative, put students ahead of themselves, are caring, inspirational, have a record of student achievement, and go above and beyond the call of duty to make a difference for children.”
Winners of the $5,000 Star Performer awards were: Carla Fessler, student support specialist, Logan Avenue; Barbara Clark, physical education teacher, EMS; and Sherry Nelson, PE teacher, EHS.
Sunnin Keosybounheuang, health teacher at EMS, and Jamie Dakin, kindergarten teacher at Village, each received a $2,500 Star Performer award.
Janell Neer, special education reading coach for the Flint Hills Special Education Cooperation, and Matt Holopirek, physical education teacher at EMS, each received $1,000 Star Performer Awards.
WOW awards, which bring $1,000 to each recipient, went to Arnold Chavez, security guard at EMS; Ted Keisler, head custodian at EHS; Donna Russell, teacher aide at Walnut School; Julie Smith, head of the bakery for the food service department; and Christine Allen, home involvement coordinator at William Allen White School.
The WOW awards were for support staff members “who consistently go above and beyond the call of duty to make a difference for students.”
pinkgram (anonymous) says...
Congratulations to all the deserving recipients! Would be nice to show the classroom teachers in the ranks a little appreciation as well. Morale drains throughout bldgs after the awards are presented as so much effort goes into the daily management of a classroom, and those faculty members remain vurtually unnoticed. I believe one "classroom" teacher was awarded this year. Some positions are more obvious to the public eye as job descriptions include organizing those events. What about the instructors who teach children to read and add? No big celebrations bring their successes to the public eye. And how many colleagues have the time to write letters of support? They are bogged down with preparing their students for tests! I guess they are supposed to be satisfied with a pat on the back. If you are a school-age child's parent, please at least send a note of thanks to your child's teacher. The teachers will keep them forever!
May 5, 2009 at 6:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )