Schools

Award-Winning Educators Share the Spotlight at Recognition Dinner

Community members got a chance to say "thank you" to educators who've touched their lives at the Education Endowment Fund 23rd Annual Recognition Dinner

 

A handful of community members got to thank their favorite educators at Thursday night's  at Hoover High School.

Some spoke their thanks in poetic prose while others turned to mathematical equations to express their gratitude (we're looking at the students of Jeff Kreis, who turned their teacher's best qualities into an algorithm).

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However they chose to say it, the message came out loud and clear.

You'll find a list of the award winners below as well as quotes from their nominators and the teachers. Also included are the teachers who were awarded grants through the Educational Endowment Fund.

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Lori Cochenour, Citizen Award Winner

Position: Cochenour is parent volunteer at several schools in the district.

Principal Renee Manse, presenter: "Lori had one main focus as a parent volunteer, and that was to make school a fun and exciting place for children to learn and grow. ... She is known, respected and trusted by the students and the parents in our community." 

Cochenour: "Wherever my kids went, I just kind of followed and found opportunities to help out. ... Volunteering in this school system has been very rewarding because I've gotten to work with so many great kids and so many wonderful educators. And I've made so many good friends along the way."

Barb Kirby, Classified Award Winner

Position: Kirby is a secretary at the .

Dee Ridge, presenter: "We are so blessed to have Barb. She continues being happy, no matter what the struggles are — if there's a boo-boo finger, or an ice pack on someone's head — she continues doing it with grace. She continues her love no matter if it's personal or job-related. She's always there to listen, always has a caring heart. ... She has unbelievable faith that gets her through every struggle we have."

Kirby: "I couldn't do my job without my (co-workers) because they're always there to help, no matter what. And we're just a very close staff. ... The will be a bittersweet event for us. And I only hope we can focus on what we've had and not what we're losing. Because it's truly been a pleasure working there. I truly, truly love the kids. It's hard to have a bad day when someone comes in and gives you a hug or tells you a funny story their parents probably wouldn't want them to know. It's been a true blessing for me."

 

Marylin Hlass, Educator Award (preK-grade 5) Winner

Position: Hlass is retired from teaching hearing impaired students throughout the district.

A.J. Rojek, presenter who had Hlass as a teacher: "The average reading level of a graduating deaf student is about third grade; however, these statistics don't deter her. I've sat in her classroom during one of her tutoring sessions, while she's tutoring other students, and I see the patience that she has and that she puts forth. And as a result, I've seen remarkable growth in the people she's tutored. She's tutored and supported me. She's been a shoulder to cry on. When life got hard, her room acted as an asylum. Mrs. Hlass is fully committed to her students and their growth."

Hlass: "In order to (help the students reach their full potential), I did have to serve not only as a teacher, but as a parent, a guidance counselor, a psychologist, a speech and hearing therapist, an audiologist. I've also been called many names, and they're all good — from teacher to Mom to Grandma. ... The students that I had and their families actually became a part of my family."

Jeff Kreis, Educator Award (grades 6-12):

Position: Kreis is a math teacher at .

Annie Szendrey, student and presenter: "While he's extremely intelligent, he doesn't take that knowledge and run away with it, simply for his own benefit. He shares his immense knowledge every day with his students. He understands his responsibility for sharing that wisdom for the well-being of others, constantly putting his students' education before anything else. ... He makes us laugh every day with the hard material we are covering. He does graph dances, writes notes on our homework and puts cartoons on our tests. And let me just say, only a smart man knows how to do that."

Kreis: "And not least of all, thank you to the students. They make my job look easy. They learn in spite of me a lot of times. And on the hard days, when my teaching is a little off, they still rise to the occasion and do very well. I have such a great group of students this year, and of course I always have a great group of students. We have such great kids in the North Canton school system. We have much to be thankful for, and we're very blessed."

Grant Award Winners

  • Sue Oryszak, Orchard Hill Elementary

Awarded $800 for: Living and Loving Learning Through Science, Language Arts and Technology

  • Cheri Andrews and Brenda Maclean, Orchard Hill Elementary School

Awarded $450 for: Real World Social Skills

  • Jerome Nist and Valeta Drake,

Awarded $684 for: NCMS Cooperative Cameras

  • Maria Wackerly, North Canton Middle School

Awarded $1,000 for: Laptops for Lab

  • Paula Guiler, Mindy Whitesmith and Kalie Mitcheltree,

Awarded $1,000 for: Willy Wonka Jr. (The grant was not used this year because of staffing changes.)

Purpose of the North Canton City Schools Education Endowment Fund: To promote, sponsor and encourage the pursuit of excellence for all students attending the public schools in the district. The additional money beyond the local, state and federal funds are continuously needed for the development of exemplary and creative ideas, which need financial support to make them operational in the schools for the direct benefit of students. The North Canton community has high expectations for its schools; thus, it looks toward meeting these needs in part through innovative programs made possible by the North Canton City Schools Education Endowment Fund.


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