Erin Williams
Liberty High School |
On March 26, 2009, The Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center was the site for a gala honoring Osceola County School Distirct's educators. It was their night to shine! The program began with the Presentation of Colors by Gateway High's Marine Junior ROTC, entertainment by talented performers from the Osceola County School for the Arts, hosted by Dr. Michael Grego, Superintendent. The evening ended with the announcement of the 2010 Teacher of the Year ~ Erin Williams, an intensive reading teacher from Liberty High School .
"When students are excited, want to debate and perform, and are eager for class to begin, it does not matter if I have to dance around the room or stand on a table to get their attention. If they are having fun and are actively engaged in the learning process at the same time, I am not embarrassed or shy about utilizing strong techniques," said Williams. "Part of the fun of being a teacher is for students to never know what to expect. It keeps them engaged in learning and attendance rates up. My ultimate goal is student motivation and their belief in success."
Erin Williams received both a bachelors of science and masters in secondary education degrees from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. She began her teaching career in 2003 at Poinciana High where she taught intensive reading and English. In 2007, she transferred to Liberty High where she serves as Professional Development Lead, Reading Department Chair, mentors new teachers, organizes an annual schoolwide reading celebration, sponsors the Future Educator Association, and serves as the Team Development Chair for the Relay for Life campaign to benefit the American Cancer Society. Next year, she will serve as the school's Site Coordinator for the Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) program, which is designed to raise up a new generation of college-bound students.
"I am extremely proud that Erin will be representing Osceola County's many outstanding educators as our 2010 Teacher of the Year," said Superintendent Dr. Michael A. Grego. "Each day, Erin uses her experiences and her passion for teaching to instill in her students a desire to learn and achieve. Not only do her students improve academically, they learn the skills necessary to be valuable contributors to society."
Ms. Williams will now represent Osceola County at the state level in Florida Department of Education Macy's 2010 Teacher of the Year judging.
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Lauren Santiago
Business and Fiscal Services |
As an Online Enrollment Specialist in the Risk and Benefits Management Department, Lauren Santiago is known for her creativity, knowledge, dedication, and commitment to the Osceola School District and its over 6,500 employees. These qualities earned her the distinguished title of Osceola School District's School-Related Employee of the Year at an awards ceremony held on April 3, 2009.
Realizing the need for a better way to communicate insurance benefit information to employees, Ms. Santiago created the first-ever Benefits Guide and the Benefits Corner on the district's e-mail system. Since then, communications between the department and employees have been streamlined and easily available for all employees. Employees are now able to access all benefit education items, view upcoming important announcements from the Risk and Benefits Management Department, as well as learn of upcoming events.
Seeing a need to once again move into the 21st century and get away from paper forms, she planned and helped implement a project to create an internet-based benefits enrollment system for the employees. With the elimination of paper processing, Ms. Santiago saved the district the need to create another position within the department. Department employees now use the system to manage employees and dependent insurance.
After seeing how catastrophic claims were affecting the district's Insurance Trust Fund, Ms. Santiago suggested an employee wellness program to try and curtail these claims. She was successful in writing a grant to obtain $75,000 in grant funding for three years from the Florida Department of Health for various wellness initiatives such as health fairs and employee incentives.
"The excellent customer service that Lauren provides is just one of the many reasons she was selected to represent the outstanding school-related employees that serve our district," said Superintendent Dr. Michael A. Grego. "The unending commitment she has to helping our employees continues to drive her to lead the way in creating a variety of different programs and initiatives that make the district work smarter and more efficiently for our students and employees."
Ms. Santiago will now represent Osceola County at the state level in Florida Department of Education's School-Related Employee of the Year judging.
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