Clover Park Employees of the Year Honored for Dedication to Children

The Clover Park School District’s 2012 Employees of the Year have very different job duties, but the three share something in common: surprise about winning.

Kathleen Eagan and Bill Magee of Lakeview Hope Academy and Greg Wilson of Greenwood Elementary School were named the district’s employees of the year at a ceremony Monday evening at district headquarters. They were selected from 25 nominees – 15 certificated, eight classified and two administrative.

The winners were selected by a three-member panel comprised of a former CPSD School Board member, the parent of a CPSD student on Joint Base Lewis-McChord and a community member who works at Little Church on the Prairie.

“You get the variety of our judges and their impartiality,” said School Board President Carole Jacobs, who helped present the awards.

Superintendent Debbie LeBeau added that the outside input was necessary.

“It’s just impossible to pick from all of the nominees,” she said.

Certificated Employee of the Year

Kathleen Eagan teaches children to read, write, do math and become caring citizens – but she insists that it's all in a day's work as a kindergarten teacher at .

“I feel like someone made a mistake,” she said with a laugh after the ceremony. “It’s amazing, but I didn’t think I was that great – I’m just a teacher.”

Eagan, who has been at Lakeview for 26 years, said she is honored to receive such “amazing recognition” and added that throughout her career, her focus has been to do what is best for children and what she can do to help them succeed.

“I’ve always just done my best and done my thing,” she said. “I’m just doing my job.”

Eagan’s nomination lauded her outstanding instructional delivery in the five elements of teaching and her ability to draw upon past learning experiences to teach both students and colleagues.

It reads: “Her kindness, caring attitude and friendly smile combine to make her the teacher who parents want their child to have.”

Classified Employee of the Year

Bill Magee leads a reading group, tutors students and grades papers, but what he’s best known for among the children at Lakeview Hope Academy is his pencil-sharpening prowess.

“When I first started working with the kindergarteners and first-graders, I noticed they were wasting a lot of time looking for and sharpening pencils,” he said.

Now, Magee spends anywhere from a half-hour to two hours every night sharpening pencils so that the students at Lakeview Hope are ready to get down to learning in the morning.

Such ardor isn’t uncommon at his school, which he said makes winning employee of the year an even bigger honor.

“Where I work, there are a lot of very dedicated employees,” he said. “There’s a lot of competition.”

In his nomination, Magee, who came to the school seven years ago, was called someone who is always willing to do whatever it takes to improve student achievement.

It reads: “Bill selflessly dedicates himself to Lakeview Hope Academy without any expectation of being rewarded.”

Administrative Employee of the Year

Greg Wilson, the principal at , is most excited to see his picture on the wall as employee of the year.

“I’ll look at it every day when I come by,” he said with a laugh.

Wilson, who was an assistant principal at Lochburn and Woodbrook Middle Schools prior to taking the reins at Greenwood in 2010, said that he was surprised to be nominated. He added that he is honored to be in the company of fellow administrative nominee Moureen David, the principal at Hudtloff Middle School.

“It’s fabulous and exciting, and I know other people probably earned it more than I did,” he said. “I think Ms. David was well deserving. She’s been there a long time, and she’s done a lot.”

Wilson’s nomination says he has an easy and approachable style that people admire and appreciate. He is also “highly visible” throughout the school day and supports extracurricular activities and Greenwood’s PTA.

It reads: “Greg truly believes that students should love school and learning.”