School District Takes a Break from Numbers, Recognizes Employee of the Year

Sarasota County Schools Superintendent, Lori White, has numbers running through her head constantly. These numbers usually revolve around budgets, district finances, and standardized test scores. At Thursday’s Sarasota County School-Related Employee of the Year luncheon, though, she took a break from her usual number-crunching to deliver a message to the 49 individuals being honored for their outstanding services.

“You,” she addressed the crowd of teacher’s aides, custodians, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, and other classified personnel, “are a very important number one.”

There are currently 41,000 students enrolled in the 55 schools throughout Sarasota County. Each day, bus drivers drive a total of 33,000 miles and school food service workers serve 28,000 meals while custodians clean 8.5 million square feet of space and groundskeepers maintain 1,500 acres of grounds.

These are the numbers that Superintendent White had in mind today as the she and the rest of the Sarasota County School Board paid homage the “shining stars” who enrich the lives of public school students across the school district through their dedicated service in various classified departments.

“Being a shining star is not all about what you do,” said School Board Chair, Frank Kovach. “It’s about who you are… The inner light that makes each of you a shining star makes our days, our students’ days, a little brighter.”

This year’s luncheon marks the 22nd annual School-Related Employee of the Year ceremony in Sarasota County. What originally began as a humble reception during school board meetings, during which certificates were handed out to a handful of employees, the event has grown immensely since its inception.

began hosting the luncheon five years ago, and this year’s honored Employee of the Year, Larmarque Elementary School Media Center Aide, Trish Jones, walked away with more than a certificate – she left the luncheon with the keys to a brand new car from the event’s lead sponsor, .

What is truly incredible about the event is the fact that no taxpayers’ dollars are used to fund it. Funding for the ceremony and prizes is entirely comprised of donations from various sponsors throughout the community.

For Jones, who has dedicated 13 years of service to the public school system, being named Employee of the Year came as a complete surprise.

“Oh my gosh, I was shaking so bad. I didn’t expect it at all,” she said in a tone of disbelief. “This is the first year I’ve even been nominated.”

“I’m so excited,” she continued on to say. “I love what I do and to have people appreciate it and recognize it – it’s really beyond words.”

Jones works in the media center at Larmarque Elementary School in North Port, where she frequently dresses up in a variety of costumes. She has been known to dress up as a pirate, a bumble bee, a caterpillar, and even as a snowflake when reading to the children.  She also frequently decorates the school library, transforming the checkout desk into a castle, a ship or some other theme from whatever book she is reading to the students.

Her goal, she says, is to get children interested in reading.

“Reading should be fun. I think it’s important to get to kids while they’re young and get them excited about it,” she said. “When I hear that ‘whoa’ when kids walk into the media center, it makes it all worth it.”

Her engaging, interactive methods have paid off with her students:

“I almost fell out of my chair the first time a first-grader asked me for a specific author.”

Jones worked a variety of positions throughout the span of her 13-year career in the Sarasota public school system. Before working in the media center, she was also a health aide and a PE aide. Upon taking post as what Lamarque School Counselor, Lorie Christie, refers to as the “Media Center Guru,” it is evident that Jones has clearly found her niche.

“How lucky am I to get up in the morning and love what I do? I get to be silly and dress up like a pirate one minute, and then a bumble bee the next!”

There was a great deal to celebrate at Thursday’s luncheon. During her speech, Superintendent White announced the success of Florida schools over the past three years, with particular emphasis on the recent strides that Sarasota County’s schools have made.

White shared that in 2008, Florida’s school system was ranked 14th in the country, based on the yearly report released by Education Week. As of 2011, Florida has rocketed up to 5th on the list.

Sarasota, which is consistently ranked as one of the top 10 school districts in Florida, has even more to brag about this year. After receiving this year’s FCAT scores, Sarasota is now ranked at No. 2 in the entire state.

Scott Lempe, the School Board’s Chief Operating Officer, invited the classified employees at the luncheon to join the students, teachers, and School Board administrators in celebrating this success.

“Those FCAT scores would not be possible without you,” Lempe told the audience. “The teachers in the classroom could not do what they do without your support behind them.”

Superintendent White voiced further gratitude on behalf of the administration.

“We are going through historically difficult times in the public school system,” she said. “Someday these hard times will be a distant memory – but rather than wait for that time, I want to say right now, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for everything you do for our students.”