Dawn Cooper is the IT Technician at Plantation Key School.  When Dawn’s not assisting staff, students or administration and is ready to take some downtime she says her top 5 favorite things are: spending time with her grandchildren, helping others and giving back to the community. Bravo!  Her hobbies include creating new and unique items with her daughter for their small business, walking, boating, cooking and fishing with her husband James.  She loves having a great time laughing and relaxing with friends.  How about her favorite food?  It’s a tie!  Soup or mashed potatoes with gravy. Lastly, we asked Dawn what she likes about working for MCSD and she told us, “Having the pleasure of seeing, playing with and hopefully making a difference in our students’ lives.”

Congratulations to Stephanie Horvat, a paraprofessional at Marathon Middle/High School, who was named the MCSD School Related Personnel of the Year in the Teacher Support category. Her fellow paras gave her lots of cheers when the announcement was made.

Congratulations to Eddie Diaz who was selected as the MCSD School Related Personnel of the Year for the Maintenance Department! Executive Director of Operation Pat Lefere, Janene Sawyer and Mike Skrodinsky were on hand for the announcement.

Stacy Butler was named as the MCSD Support Employee of the Year in the Transportation Department! Executive Director Pat Lefere and Transportation Director Jason Thomason congratulate Ms. Butler on her honor. She is kind and friendly to the students and dedicated to always doing her best. Congratulations Ms. Butler!!

Althea Allen was named as the Support Personnel of the Year for the district. Althea has been the center of the hub of curriculum and instruction for over 30 years and the accolades of the nominations were beautiful and plentiful! Superintendent Axford, who has worked with Althea for many years, fondly remembered so many contributions Althea has made over the years. 

Debra Ward from Key Largo School has been named as the Monroe County School District Assistant Principal of the Year. Ward served as a teacher at KLS and is in second year as an AP. Her work coaching teachers, strong leadership particularly with elementary curriculum implementation and her extreme Tornado Pride supported her selection.

Barry is kept busy at school working in a varying exceptionality classroom which is an important part of an inclusion classroom. He has a great selection of hobbies that allows him to catch his breath after his week such as doing home improvement projects, swimming, and watching sports. He says he loves “yelling for the Kansas City Chiefs and Kansas Jayhawks!” How about his other favorite things? Barry tells us that he loves quality time with his family, coaching sports, driving his truck while listening to 80’s music, ordering “important stuff” on Amazon (hehehe…), and enjoying a quiet beverage while relaxing by his swimming pool. Does Barry have a favorite food? He says he enjoys a nicely grilled steak along-side some fresh Keys pinks! Lastly, we asked Barry why he likes working for MCSD and he tells us, “The students, parents, school staff and administrators are all great. Plus there is no snow or ice in the Keys!”