Teacher and Support Staff of the Year
Each year, Pattonville School District names two staff to the highest honor — the Teacher of the Year and the Support Staff Employee of the Year. These two staff members represent the district for the entire year. They participate in the homecoming parade, speak to new staff and help name their successor. In addition to a district honoree, three finalists are named and each school — including a district services group for support staff in other buildings — selects a building-level honoree who advances to the district competition as a semi-finalist. The awards recognize staff for their hard work and dedication to Pattonville's students.
Process
Students, staff, family members and people from the Pattonville community nominate staff for the Teacher of the Year and Support Staff of the Year programs. Each school selects a building-level Teacher of the Year and Support Staff of the Year. Additionally, staff from non-school buildings select a Support Staff of the Year for the district services group which is composed of transportation, maintenance, printing and Learning Center employees. To select each building-level honoree, employees receive a ballot with the names of eligible nominees from their building and will vote to determine each building-level winner, who will become semifinalists for the district honor. Information provided by those semifinalists will be reviewed by a selection committee, which will choose three finalists to be interviewed for the district honor. All finalists and semifinalists are recognized during District Appreciation Night in May, at which time the district honorees for Teacher of the Year and Support Staff of the Year are named.
District Programs
Current Honorees
Teacher of the Year
Audrey Masek
Audrey Masek said that first and foremost, her job as a teacher is to form strong relationships with her students before presenting them with rigorous tasks and new learning. She believes it is her duty to provide students with the best learning experiences possible, but she knows that if she has meaningful relationships with her students, she can encourage them to take risks as a learner and put forth their best effort.
“I strive to provide each student with customized and responsive instruction,” Masek said. “My classroom is both fluid and flexible depending on the needs of my unique students.”
Masek utilizes learning readiness based groups, with those groups changing as the needs of her students change. Masek wants all of her students to see their ability to learn and to become co-creators of their learning experience. She strongly values student independence, voice, choice and learner agency.
“I want my students to know that I value their opinions and want their voices to be heard daily in my classroom,” she said.
It is important to Masek that her students are able to connect classroom content to their own culture and personal lives, which is why she works to design real-world learning experiences such as a QT gas station creation project where students practiced area and perimeter or a project-based learning experience she created where students applied science concepts through the lens of the Hawaiian Islands, resulting in her students completing an impact project to aid the wildfire recovery.
“When real world learning takes place, students are engaged and are so excited about what they are doing that they almost forget that learning is taking place!” she said.
Teaching has been the most rewarding experience of Masek’s life. She loves getting to know her students and seeing them grow, both personally and academically and said the best reward is knowing she’s had the chance to positively impact them.
Support Staff of the Year
Anaisabel Garofalo
Through her work as an English learner (EL) paraprofessional and the aftercare program lead at Bridgeway Elementary School, Anaisabel (Ana) Garofalo is able to support students from diverse backgrounds. She is able to connect with many of her EL students through a shared experience of being new to a country or having a different background from their peers. She communicates and interprets with students and their families, teachers and staff to help bridge language barriers.
“By communicating with parents in their native language, I create a trusting home-school connection that gives parents a voice in their child’s education,” Garofalo said. “This helps students’ success at school.”
Garofalo is driven by her own experiences to be the language support that families like her own once needed. It is important to her that students feel welcomed and valued while receiving the resources they need to thrive academically and emotionally. During the aftercare program, she is able to facilitate a safe and fun space for students, who can build connections with their peers in other grades, enjoy engaging activities and have extra assistance with homework. Garofalo provides them with a supportive environment and helps them with conflict resolution.
“It is essential that they have time to play after a structured school day and get the time to do homework,” she said. “My goal is to help busy parents enjoy quality time together at home and allow students to participate in their evening activities without the stress of unfinished schoolwork.”
Garofalo loves working in Pattonville because it is a community she has been a part of since she was a student herself.
“As an alum, I have felt the genuine care and dedication of teachers and staff, so I returned to Pattonville as an adult,” she said. “Working at such a special place and being recognized for my contributions to the district is truly an honor.”
Previous Winners
Teacher of the Year
1985-1986 — Margaret Steinheimer **
1986-1987 — Frank Gallagher
1987-1988 — Becky Hicks Kruse
1988-1989 — Mary Ann Goldberg
1989-1990 — Barbara Weekley
1990-1991 — Peggy Koelling**
1991-1992 — Nancy Sebastian
1992-1993 — Cynthia Kalkwarf***
1993-1994 — Jo Ellen Leeke
1994-1995 — Gloria Fox
1995-1996 — Randy Pierce
1996-1997 — Lisa Zangriles**
1997-1998 — Kathy Oster
1998-1999 — Jan Davenport
1999-2000 — Carol Craig
2000-2001 — Valerie Maxwell***
2001-2002 — Kerry Brown
2002-2003 — Michelle Wagner**
2003-2004 — Dennis McFarland
2004-2005 — Amy White-Taylor**
2005-2006 — Dixie Tipton
2006-2007 — Kevin Beckner
2007-2008 — Christopher Benbow
2008-2009 — Diane Richardson
2009-2010 — Phyllis Pasley
2010-2011 — Julie Kampschroeder
2011-2012 — Tracey Robinson
2012-2013 — Abigail Williams
2013-2014 — Beth Moritz
2014-2015 — Sarah Collins
2015-2016 — Yulia Kotets**
2016-2017 — Allison Stout*
2017-2018 — Dr. Dana Burns
2018-2019 — Amy Schwendemann
2019-2020 — Dan Derby
2020-2021 — Eleanor Taylor **
2021-2022 — Leslie Jones
2022-2023 — Brittany Garcia
* Regional winner (introduced in 2016)
** State finalist
*** Missouri Teacher of the Year
Support Staff of the Year
1994-1995 — Nancy Greenblatt
1995-1996 — Kim Miller
1996-1997 — Nancy Henley
1997-1998 — Linda Shofner
1998-1999 — Cindy Boddy
1999-2000 — Charles Stanton
2000-2001 — Sandra Hampton
2001-2002 — Marilyn Baker
2002-2003 — Rommel McDonald
2003-2004 — Kay Sullivan
2004-2005 — Teresa Jercinovic
2005-2006 — Kristin Powell
2006-2007 — Charles Roach
2007-2008 — Joyce Bowdish
2008-2009 — Toby Meyer
2009-2010 — Julie Purviance
2010-2011 — Judy Zahner
2011-2012 — Luis Miranda
2012-2013 — Glennora Genail
2013-2014 — Larrie Bell
2014-2015 — Mike Siebe
2015-2016 — Joan Knight
2016-2017 — Ardella M. Diggs
2017-2018 — Joe Gutierrez
2018-2019 — Tron Williams
2019-2020 — Andrea Baldwin
2020-2021 — Lisa Foust
2021-2022 — Erica Abowitz
2022-2023 — Jenny McDowell