– stock.adobe.com)
Nine local public school educators and one afterschool community hero are 2024 Dawbarn Education Award recipients.
The Community Foundation of the Central Blue Ridge honors 10 community members every year for their significant impact on the education of youth in Staunton, Augusta County and Waynesboro Schools with the Dawbarn Education Award.
“Our founder, Buz Dawbarn, believed that providing our youth with the highest quality education possible is essential if they are to successfully overcome all of the obstacles they will encounter in life,” Dan Layman, CEO of the Community Foundation of the Central Blue Ridge, said. “That begins with ensuring that our schools surround them with excellent educators, administrators and support staff. Mr. Dawbarn, through this awards program, gave us the means to reward and showcase that level of excellence.”
This year’s award recipients are:
- Elizabeth Benbow, reading specialist, Stuarts Draft Elementary School
- Lindsey Britt, special education teacher, William Perry Elementary School
- Melissa Dull, choral and theater director at Fort Defiance High School
- Amber Gibson, third grade teacher, William Perry Elementary
- Pam Hewitt, instructional aide, special education, Riverheads High School
- Brandy Johnson, seventh grade language arts teacher at Shelburne Middle School.
- Jo-El Nelson, AP environmental science, geospatial information system teacher Shenandoah Valley Governor’s School
- Eddie Santiago, teen program director at STAUNTON-AUGUSTA FAMILY YMCA
- April Smith, lead special education teacher and mentor, Riverheads Elementary
- Jill Williams, instructional assistant, Stuarts Draft Elementary School
In 30 years, the Community Foundation of the Central Blue Ridge has awarded more than two million dollars to area educators. Including this year’s recipients, 297 Dawbarn Education Awards have been received.
Miriam Burrows, the director of educational programming at the Community Foundation, went on site to surprise all 10 recipients with the news of their Dawbarn Education Award selection.
“I love that it gives an opportunity for public school staff, teachers, students, and community members to lift each other up,” Burrows said. “There are the winners, of course, and the winners get $10,000, which is great. But I love to watch the pride in the people’s faces who wrote the nominations, and get to witness these superheroes be lifted up by their support.”
Stuarts Draft Elementary School Principal Tina Bowersox describes Elizabeth Benbow as a teacher’s teacher.
“She has the wisdom without any kind of arrogance,” Bowersox said. “Every teacher goes to her with questions. They ask her to come into the room and help with things. They ask her about specific students, because they have such respect for her knowledge and wisdom. Everyone loves her as a person, and teachers just embrace that knowledge.”
For Benbow, helping kids master reading is just part of her calling.
“To get this recognition for just doing my job is overwhelming,” Benbow said. “It’s wonderful. No complaints, but this is what they pay me to do.”
Sharon Barker, the principal at William Perry, believes Lindsey Britt has the special make-up necessary to flourish as a special education teacher.
“There’s so many things she does,” Barker said. “She’s arranged for gifts for shoes for students. She coordinated the pancake breakfast. She coordinated the school store. There’s just so much more to teaching, and Lindsey consistently goes above and beyond.”
The award surprised Britt.
“It’s an honor to be nominated,” Britt said. “I don’t do it to be recognized. It’s just a shock. I appreciate the recognition.”
Fort Defiance music teacher Shannon Madia nominated her friend Melissa Dull for her extraordinary commitment to the choral students at the school.
“No one is more deserving than Melissa Dull,” Madia said. “She gives her all to absolutely everything that she does. She makes her classroom a loving and welcoming place.”
Dull believes she was born to be an educator.
“It’s very humbling to be recognized for something that’s my passion,” Dull said. “It’s what I love. We all need spaces to fit it in life. We all have ways we want to give to our community. That’s what this (teaching) does. It gives me a reason for being. It gives me a reason to get up in the morning. It gives me a reason to connect with the human population. It’s such a special way to communicate emotion.”
William Perry Elementary School Principal Sharon Barker believes Amber Gibson’s journey to the classroom is indicative of what makes her a great teacher.
“Amber started out as an instructional assistant,” Barker said. “She worked, and then went to school to get her teaching certificate. Once that was completed, she’s come in and she’s done a great job. She’s always had a heart for children, and she focuses on what we can do and not what we can’t do.”
She was grateful for the Dawbarn Education Award.
“It’s always great to be recognized,” Gibson said. “This is certainly an occupation where it doesn’t happen every day. The lovely children I work with love and respect me, and I love and respect them, but you don’t often get this kind of recognition. It’s incredibly moving and inspiring.”
From the time that Pam Hewitt first walked into Riverheads High School as a substitute teacher, Principal Matt Stevens wanted to find a way to keep her in the building permanently.
“You could quickly see with her how she connected with and cared for kids,” Stevens said. “She cared about it sometimes more than the kids did. She understands what it’s about, the time that it takes, the dedication it takes, and the patience that it takes. She’s just phenomenal.”
She was thankful for the recognition.
“I’m definitely shocked,” Hewitt said. “I’m so honored, because of all the hard-working teachers and principals that I know, for them to have nominated me, it’s just crazy and overwhelming. I feel very undeserving of this knowing the people I work with.”
Brandy Johnson was Staunton Schools’ Teacher of the Year.
In the same way that a courageous teacher helped shield Johnson from the pain and loneliness of adolescence, Johnson now serves as a similar safe space for middle students.
Shelburne Middle School Principal Lisa Warren nominated her. When Johnson was told about the $10,000, she responded about how many books $10,000 could purchase. And that, Warren believes, is what makes Johnson so special.
She was grateful for the recognition.
“I’m overwhelmed, just very grateful and undeserving,” Johnson said of the award. “It feels wonderful. I wish that everybody could get this.”
Kristen Beery, the agriculture teacher at Shenandoah Valley Center for Advanced Learning, nominated her co-worker Jo-El Nelson for the award.
“Jo-El is incredibly flexible and adaptable,” Beery commented. “She is always pivoting to meet the needs of the greater community. Jo-El is a dedicated, caring professional focused on learning experiences, observing and understanding the world around us.”
On the day of the presentation, Nelson was walking her students down to a small lake for a hands-on data collection assignment.
“I was surprised,” Nelson said of receiving the award. “I know people in the past who have gotten [a Dawbarn Education Award], and I never really considered myself to be in that same category. I challenge kids to do what I ask, and they go above and beyond.”
Candace Martin, associate executive director of the STAUNTON-AUGUSTA FAMILY YMCA, nominated Eddie Santiago, who is known as “Mr. Eddie,” for his relentless advocacy on behalf of teens.
“Totally unexpected,” Santiago said. “I’m usually the one that does the surprises. As my career went on, I saw that I could make a positive difference in a kid’s life. It’s rewarding. This job kind of means everything to me. This is the best way I can say it. People look forward to going home when they get off work. It’s the opposite for me. I look forward to coming to work.”
Riverheads Elementary School Assistant Principal Sarah King will never run out of great things to say about April Smith.
“Over time, I’ve watched her, and she’s been completely remarkable in every way,” King said. “She fills the definition of teaching and education. She has such a heart and a passion. Mrs. Smith never gives up. She shows up day after day and perseveres. She’s innovative. She just never stops, and her heart for what she does is unbelievable. It is above and beyond, and worthy of recognition.”
Smith’s husband and parents were in attendance for the announcement.
“I’m just completely shocked,” Smith said. “I’m in awe of everybody that came, and I’m so excited. I appreciate the recognition. I think we always need to recognize their abilities over disabilities, and recognize that every mind has the right for dignity and respect, and to go as far in life as they can.”
According to Bowersox, Jill Williams will do anything to help students.
“She’s here every morning before me,” Bowersox said of Williams. “She works until around 5 p.m. at night. She volunteers for every extra duty. She loves the kids without measure, and we call her our honorary reading specialist.”
Williams followed her own four children to Stuarts Draft Elementary. As they continued on, she stayed at the school.
“This is home,” Williams said. “This is what I wake up for. This is not a job. I just love this school. My kids all came through here. They treat us like family. The administration has taken on some of my crazy ideas. I’m just overwhelmed, and grateful that they trust me with these kids that we have all day.”
Share
Rebecca Barnabi
